Today is October 27, 2006.

Did you know that it was 45 years ago today that NASA launched the very first Saturn I rocket in preparation for the very first moon landing eight years later.

Also, it was on this date 102 years ago that the very first New York City subway line opened for business. That subway system is now one of the largest in the world.

And it was 3 years ago today that America lost one of it most familiar voices. Long-time announcer for The Price Is Right, Rod Roddy died on this date in 2003.

Andfinally..

Young Theo was born as the second of four children in New York City. As a youngster, due to his asthmatic condition he would nearly always have to sleep propped up in a bed or slouching in a chair. Although Theo was skinny, sickly, had poor sight and always seemed to be suffering from one ailment or another, as a child, he vowed to his father that he would grow up to become strong and successful. Well, I promise you that his father would not be disappointed.

Young Theo had a natural curiosity for biology and zoology. So strong was his interest in nature, that at the young age of 9, he would author a paper entitled “The Natural History of Insects”. Later, as a teenager, he would take taxidermy classes and with two of his cousins he would open a makeshift museum. The museum was populated with various animals that he had caught, studied and prepared for display.

In 1876, he would enroll at Harvard. Four years later he graduated with honors. After he graduated, he went to a doctor for a routine checkup. His doctor discovered a serious heart condition and recommended that Theo spend his life behind a desk and that he should avoid all strenuous activities. But, Theo wanted no part of a sedentary lifestyle. He completely ignored his doctors’ advice.

Not long after college, Theo moved from New England and headed out West. He lived near the boomtown of Medora, North Dakota for several years. There, he would learn to rope and ride, occasionally be involved in fist fights and generally enjoy living life during the final years of the traditional American Old West. He would sign up to become adeputy sheriff and had chased down several groups of outlaws throughout several states and brought them to justice. Riding, roping, fighting, chasing outlaws, not exactly what the doctor had intended when he recommended that Theo spend his life behind a desk.

Unfortunately, a tough winter in 1887 would wipe out his herd of cattle and his cowboy days were over. He would move back to the East Coast. He purchased land in New York and even decided to run for mayor of New York City. When the votes were tallied, he would finish in 3rd place. Following the election, figuring that he was not meant to run for public office, he would travel to Europe. While there, he would lead an expedition to climb to the top of Mont Blanc, the 11th tallest mountain in the World. His group was only the 3rd ever to scale the mountain. Yes, once again, ignoring his doctors’ advice of working behind a desk and instead climbing amountain in southern Europe.

In March of 1909, Theo would depart for an African Safari. The trip was partially sponsored by the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institute. And would you believe it, but his expedition killed or trapped nearly 12,000 different animals: everything from small insects to moles to elephants to lions, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, anything and everything. But Theo wasn’t hunting just for fun. You see, nearly all of these animals would end up in the United States National Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Institute and countless zoos throughout the United States. This was the same man, who as a teenager took taxidermy classes and started a makeshift museum to display the animals that he prepared.

Many years later, he would take a similar trip to South America and brought back countless more plants and animals to be displayed in museums and zoos throughout the U.S. Once again, not exactly living the easy life spending his days behind a desk as his doctor had suggested.

But you know what, I bet his doctor got the last laugh, after all. History best remembers Theo, not for his traveling, his love of nature, his museums or his mountain climbing, but rather history remembers him best for the eight years that he spent his days behind perhaps the most famous desk in the world. We now know Theo, who was born on this date, October 27th in the year 1858, as Theodore Roosevelt and he was our 26th President.

And that is just one of the things that has occurred on this day in history.