It’s no secret that Theodore Roosevelt was one of our more adventurous presidents, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he was a member of the prestigious Explorers Club. Founded in New York City in 1904, the Explorers Club is an international society dedicated to field research and the ideal that that exploration is vital. Members have had epic famous firsts—first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon. Naturally, Teddy was in the club.
In 2003, The Explorer’s Club processed, inventoried, and rehoused a collection of Roosevelt family lantern slides—hand-painted glass photos—from the Museum of Natural History. From Theodore's baby pictures to cruising up the Nile River, these slides take a peek inside the life of the Rough Rider.
Here, Teddy Roosevelt poses in front of a dead elephant during a 1909 African safari expedition. His son, Kermit, is seen standing on top of the elephant.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Theodore Roosevelt and his granddaughter, Edith Derby, 1918.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Theodore Roosevelt on horseback.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt’s inauguration, 1905.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Left, Theodore Roosevelt, about 18 months old, 1860. Right, about 4 years old, 1862.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt at age 10.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt and McKinley.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Portraits of Roosevelt’s mother and father. Theodore Roosevelt Sr., age 30, 1862; and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, age 22, 1856.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt in a canoe during the River of Doubt expedition, in South America, 1913.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt and family during his term as governor, in Albany.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt’s four sons in service.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt with Sewall and Dow in Maine; William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot Dow first met Theodore Roosevelt in the 1870s, when they served as hunting guides for Roosevelt. Roosevelt asked them to manage his Elkhorn Ranch in 1884.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt with John Burroughs in Yellowstone Park in 1903.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
A snowy owl, mounted by Theodore Roosevelt.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt going up the Nile.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt saying goodbye to Rear Adm. Robert Peary during the North Pole expedition in 1909.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt talking with workmen during the building Panama Canal.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Roosevelt with John Muir in Yosemite Park, 1903.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
Page one of a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to his youngest daughter, Ethel.
Courtesy of the Explorer's Club Research Collections
