WASHINGTON -- The Nobel Peace Prize won by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 was presented to President Reagan Wednesday for display in the White House as part of ceremonies commemorating Roosevelt's birthday.
The medallion, donated by the Theodore Roosevelt Association, will be on permanent display in the Roosevelt Room, located in the West Wing of the White House.
Roosevelt, born on Oct. 27, 1858, gained fame as a Republican political reformer in New York City and state politics and as a 'Rough Rider' military hero during the Spanish-American War.
He became the nation's youngest president in September 1901, when as vice president he succeeded President William McKinley, who was assassinated.
Reagan has often quoted the flamboyant Roosevelt, frequently citing his belief that the presidency should be used as a 'bully pulpit.'
The president shared lunch Wednesday with members of the association, including his chief of protocol, Lucky Roosevelt, a descendant of the former chief executive. Nine other persons also bearing the famous surname were among the 40 guests. Also included was Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris.
The association, a non-profit historical society and public service organization, was founded in 1919, shortly after Roosevelt's death at his home at Oyster Bay, N.Y..
Roosevelt was the first American to receive the Peace Prize, being honored for bringing bringing together the Japanese and Russian negotiators who concluded the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War with a treaty signed in Portsmouth, N.H.
The war was the first in which an Asian nation defeated a European nation, and launched Tokyo toward its military zenith which resulted in its participation in World War II. It was not until the end of World War II that Russia was finally able to recoup much of the territory it lost in the fighting a half-century earlier.
Roosevelt, who was widely known for his naturalist studies and as a prolific author and rancher in the Dakota Badlands, left the White House in March 1909. Disenchanted with his designated successor, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt mounted an unsuccessful campaign in 1912 as the candidate of the 'Bull Moose' party.
When he was wounded during the campaign -- shot in the chest - Roosevelt insisted on finishing his speech before seeking medical attention.
The Nobel Peace Prize won by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 was presented to President Reagan Wednesday for display in the White House as part of ceremonies commemorating Roosevelt's birthday.
The medallion, donated by the Theodore Roosevelt Association, will be on permanent display in the Roosevelt Room, located in the West Wing of the White House.
Roosevelt, born on Oct. 27, 1858, gained fame as a Republican political reformer in New York City and state politics and as a 'Rough Rider' military hero during the Spanish-American War.
He became the nation's youngest president in September 1901, when as vice president he succeeded President William McKinley, who was assassinated.
Reagan has often quoted the flamboyant Roosevelt, frequently citing his belief that the presidency should be used as a 'bully pulpit.'
The president shared lunch Wednesday with members of the association, including his chief of protocol, Lucky Roosevelt, a descendant of the former chief executive. Nine other persons also bearing the famous surname were among the 40 guests. Also included was Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris.
The association, a non-profit historical society and public service organization, was founded in 1919, shortly after Roosevelt's death at his home at Oyster Bay, N.Y..
Roosevelt was the first American to receive the Peace Prize, being honored for bringing bringing together the Japanese and Russian negotiators who concluded the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War with a treaty signed in Portsmouth, N.H.
The war was the first in which an Asian nation defeated a European nation, and launched Tokyo toward its military zenith which resulted in its participation in World War II. It was not until the end of World War II that Russia was finally able to recoup much of the territory it lost in the fighting a half-century earlier.
Roosevelt, who was widely known for his naturalist studies and as a prolific author and rancher in the Dakota Badlands, left the White House in March 1909. Disenchanted with his designated successor, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt mounted an unsuccessful campaign in 1912 as the candidate of the 'Bull Moose' party.
When he was wounded during the campaign -- shot in the chest - Roosevelt insisted on finishing his speech before seeking medical attention.
Reagan declared Wednesday to be Theodore Roosevelt Day to 'commemorate the birth of this fearless American hero.' The officially designated day begins a year-long celebration of the 125th anniversary of Roosevelt's birth.
In a proclamation, the president said Roosevelt was one of the nation's 'larger-than-life personalities' and 'truly an American Renaissance man. His life was a voyage of discovery guided by deep principle and private morality.'
'He identified the national character with the words, 'Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity and hardihood -- the virtues that made America.' And I might add, the virtues that made Theodore Roosevelt,' Reagan said.
