During the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1782 BCE), Egypt rebounded from the First Intermediate Period to build a strong and stable empire. But it is still often ranked behind the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom in terms of importance, especially regarding architecture. The Old Kingdom had the great pyramids, and the New Kingdom had its colossal temples. What did the Middle Kingdom have?   Several Middle Kingdom pharaohs revived the art of pyramid building, but different construction methods meant that their pyramids did not stand the test of time. However, these monumental tombs were innovative in other ways. This is a survey of the most important Middle Kingdom pyramids.   The Establishment of the Middle Kingdom Sandstone statue of Mentuhotep II, c. 2055-2004 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   The collapse of the Old Kingdom did not happen suddenly but was the culmination of a long process. The central authority of the Egyptian state based in Memphis weakened until competing dynasties formed in the Fayum city of Heracleopolis and the Upper Egyptian city of Thebes. Decentralized power characterized the First Intermediate Period (2180-2040 BCE).   The first ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II (ruled c. 2061-2010 BCE) of the 11th dynasty in Thebes, embarked on a campaign to forcibly reunite Egypt. Mentuhotep II ruled Egypt from Thebes, but the first king of the 12th dynasty, Amenemhat I (reigned c. 1991-1962 BCE), decided to move the capital.   The location of the new capital was in Lower Egypt, just north of the Fayum near the modern village of Lisht. Amenemhat I named his new capital Iti-tawi, which is translated as “Seizer of the Two Lands.” Although Memphis and Thebes remained important religious, administrative, and cultural centers, Lisht/Iti-tawi was the king’s primary residence, in this life and the next.   Early Middle Kingdom Pyramids Marble head of a sphinx, possibly representing Amenemhat I, c. 1981-1952 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   Amenemhat I was the first king of the Middle Kingdom to reintroduce the idea of a pyramid complex as a tomb and place to worship the deified pharaoh. The Old Kingdom pharaohs all named their pyramids, so when Amenemhat I revived the tradition he named his, Soot Khau Amenemhat, or “The Places of Appearances of Amenemhat.”   Amenemhat I’s pyramid had a 276-foot base, a height of 180 feet, and a 54-degree slope. The core of the pyramid was made of small blocks of rough limestone, sand, debris, and mudbrick. The outer casing was made of limestone.   Amenemhat I’s son and successor, Senusret I (Senwosret/Sesostris) (ruled c. 1971-1926 BCE), built his pyramid about 1.25 miles south of his father’s. Senusret I’s pyramid was slightly larger, with a 300-foot base and a height of 201 feet, but what made it more impressive was the overall size of the complex.   All Egyptian pyramids were part of much larger complexes. The pyramid served as the focal point where the king’s body was usually interred. But it was part of a larger complex enclosed by a wall. Within the wall were chapels where priests would perform rituals for the deified king and courtyards that were used for sed festivals. The sed festival was a jubilee celebration of a king’s thirty years on the throne, which the king participated in by running a circuit of the courtyard.   Pyramid of Amenemhat I at Lisht, c. 1952 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   Senusret I’s pyramid complex included nine smaller pyramids for his queens and what is known as a “satellite pyramid.” Satellite pyramids, which were miniature doubles of the main pyramids, were common in the Old Kingdom and were believed to house the deceased king’s ka or spirit. Senusret I’s satellite pyramid was the last one built in Egypt and the only one known from the Middle Kingdom.   The primary pyramid, the satellite pyramid, and a chapel entrance to the main pyramid were enclosed by a mudbrick wall. Another mudbrick wall enclosed the queens’ pyramids along with an inner enclosure, creating an enclosure within an enclosure. A causeway led to the entrance of the first gate and an entrance hall that was between the outer and inner enclosures. Senusret I’s immediate successor had difficulties replicating the impressiveness of his pyramid complex.   Granite statue of Amenemhat II, c. 1929-1895 BCE. Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.   Senusret I’s successor was Amenemhat II (reigned c. 1929-1895 BCE). He built his pyramid near the Lower Egyptian village of Dahshur. This move put his pyramid closer to the Old Kingdom pyramids, but it unfortunately did not stand the test of time. Little remains of the pyramid and it has not been completely cleared, but it probably had a base of about 65 feet. A sloping entrance passage leads to what is probably the burial chamber and a vertical shaft that connects to it, but this is now all underwater.   A Change in Construction Methods Pyramid of Senusret II, c. 1897-1878 BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   Senusret II (ruled c. 1897-1878) made two notable changes to his pyramid. The first was relocating his pyramid back to the Fayum region, closer to Lisht. The second was building his pyramid with a complete mudbrick core. The first change was not as permanent, as later rulers alternated between the Fayum and the Delta, but the second innovation was permanent. All subsequent Middle Kingdom pyramids were also built with mudbrick cores. The pyramid was similar in size to previous Middle Kingdom pyramids, with a base of 348 feet and a height of 159 feet.   Senusret III (ruled c. 1878-1860 BCE) chose to build his pyramid in Dahshur in the shadow of Old Kingdom pharaoh Sneferu’s (reigned c. 2613-2589 BCE) Bent Pyramid. Senusret III’s pyramid was notable because sand was used instead of mortar to fill the seams of the mudbrick core. This change was perhaps a sign of the declining quality of Middle Kingdom pyramids, or possibly even the decline of the Middle Kingdom itself. With that said, Senusret III’s successor was the most ambitious of all Middle Kingdom pyramid builders.   The Pyramids of Amenemhat III  Statuette of Amenemhat III, c. 1853-1798 BC. Source: Louvre Museum, Paris.   Amenemhat III (reigned c. 1860-1815 BCE) ruled Egypt for nearly forty years, which allowed him to leave his mark on art, foreign policy, and architecture.   The first pyramid he built was named “Amenemhat is Beautiful” and was located in Dahshur. It was second in height to Senusret III’s pyramid at 246 feet and had a base of 344 feet. However, the underground chambers of the pyramid had structural problems, so it had to be abandoned. Fortunately for the long-lived pharaoh, Amenemhat III had plenty of time to build an even more enduring afterlife abode.   Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshur, c. 1860-1815. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   Amenemhat III had his next pyramid built in the Fayum near Hawara. Named “Amenemhat Lives,” the second pyramid was 190 feet high with a base of 344 feet and an angle of 48 degrees. This was not as impressive as his Dahshur pyramid in terms of size. But what the Hawara pyramid lacked in size it made up for with the historical importance of its courtyard complex.   Hawara Pyramid of Amenemhat III, c. 19th century BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   The mortuary temple within the enclosure of Amenemhat III’s pyramid was large, intricate, and on two levels. It was so impressive that the 5th century BCE Greek historian Herodotus and the 1st century CE Greek geographer Strabo visited and wrote about the site. The classical authors compared the complex to the labyrinth of the legendary King Minos, who, according to myth, would send children to the complex to be eaten by the Minotaur. Herodotus wrote:   “The pyramids, too, are astonishing structures, each one of them equal to many of the most ambitious works of Greece; but the labyrinth surpasses them. It has twelve covered courts—six in a row facing north, six south—the ages of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other, with a continuous wall round the outside of the whole. Inside, the building is of two stories and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them.”   Construction of Middle Kingdom Pyramids  A collection of Egyptian construction tools found at the tomb of Ani in Thebes, c. 13th century BCE. Source: British Museum, London.   When compared to their Old Kingdom counterparts, the Middle Kingdom pyramids were smaller. The mudbrick cores also ensured that the Middle Kingdom pyramids would be far less enduring, but that is not to say that they were not architecturally important. Middle Kingdom engineers designed their pyramids to deal with the situation at hand, and a considerable workforce was needed to complete the projects.   As mentioned previously, the biggest difference between Middle Kingdom pyramids and those of the Old Kingdom, especially those built in the 4th dynasty, was the use of mudbrick. The 4th dynasty pyramids used stone cores while those built from Senusret III onward used mudbrick cores. Although Old Kingdom pyramids fell victim to later cultures reusing their casings to build medieval parts of Egypt, their stone cores ensured they would endure. This was not the case with the Middle Kingdom pyramids. The use of mudbrick cores indicates that the Middle Kingdom rulers did not have the resources to create purely stone structures.   Middle Kingdom engineers introduced another interesting building technique. In the Old Kingdom, pyramid builders would join structurally important blocks using fine joints. Middle Kingdom engineers abandoned those in favor of wooden dovetail cramps. It is estimated that about 12,000 wooden dovetail cramps were used in Senusret I’s pyramid complex, each one bearing the name of the king.   Model of bakery and brewery found in a tomb at Deir El-Bersha, c. 2010-1961 BCE. Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.   Although the Middle Kingdom pyramids were not as grand as those of the Old Kingdom, they still required a significant workforce to be built. Based on archaeological evidence, it is estimated that 4,770 workers were used on average during the Middle Kingdom. Most workers were drafted in a corvee system, which was a form of enforced labor.   The workers included about 1,500 stone transporters, who had the most dangerous job. These men would deliver the stone or mud bricks on sleds that were pulled by several men. Water was used as a lubricant for the sled as it was pulled up an earthen ramp to place the blocks. The skilled workers included brick makers, stone cutters, sailors, and engineers. It has also been estimated that about 1,500 auxiliary workers were part of an average pyramid-building labor force. These workers included sculptors and painters as well as cooks, brewers, bakers, weavers, and water carriers.   In contrast, it is estimated that the Old Kingdom Pharaoh’s gathered workforces of between 20,000 to 10,000 workers to construct their pyramids.

  The technology of the Bronze Age seems primitive by today’s standards, which makes it incredible that Bronze Age people living 3000-5000 years ago were able to build architectural marvels that still stand today. Including the pyramids of ancient Egypt, the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, and the palaces of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, this is a look at some of the most impressive and important examples of Bronze Age architecture from the Near East and Aegean.   Early Egyptian Architecture Step Pyramid and temple complex of Djosser, Saqqara, Egypt, c. 2667-2648 BCE. Source: Copyright Jared Krebsbach.   Egypt has some of the world’s most enduring architecture. Its most famous monuments are the pyramids. But before the Egyptians built their pyramids, they built tomb structures known as mastabas, which means bench in Arabic. These tomb structures were given this name by later Arab visitors to Egypt, who thought the rectangular structures looked like simple benches.   The kings of the 1st dynasty (c. 3000-2800 BCE) and the last two kings of the 2nd dynasty (c. 2800-2675 BCE) were buried underneath these tombs near the Upper Egyptian city of Abydos.   During the 3rd dynasty, Egypt’s capital moved north to Memphis, and this became the new necropolis area. Egypt experienced a major architectural revolution when Djoser (ruled c. 2687-2648 BCE) built the Step Pyramid. The king’s vizier and architect Imhotep oversaw and planned the work. It was essentially six mastabas placed on top of each other. The 196-foot-high structure was enclosed by a wall 34-foot-high and 5,397-foot-long.   The Pyramid Age Pyramid of King Sneferu at Meidum, Egypt, c. 2613-2589 BCE. Source: Copyright Jared Krebsbach.   The first king of the 4th dynasty, Sneferu (reigned c. 2613-2589 BCE), ushered in the “Pyramid Age” with his attempts to build a true pyramid. The ambitious king commissioned four pyramids: one at Meidum, two at Dahshur, and one at Seila. The most famous are the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid at Dahshur. Many scholars consider the former to be the first true pyramid. This laid the groundwork for the greatest pyramids at Giza.   Sneferu’s Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, Egypt, c. 2613-2589 BCE. Source: Copyright Jared Krebsbach.   The Giza pyramids include those of Khufu (c. 2589-2566 BCE), Khafra (2558-2532 BCE), and Menkaura (2532-2503). Khufu’s pyramid is the largest and is considered the Great Pyramid by modern scholars. The ancient Greeks included it as one of their Seven Wonders of the World. The Great Pyramid covers 13.1 acres of space, is 479 feet tall, and has an impressive slope of 53 degrees. The Giza pyramids were built with locally quarried limestone by well-organized groups of 25,000 men working in three-month shifts.   Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, c. 2589-2503 BCE. Source: Copyright Jared Krebsbach.   The purpose of the pyramids was to serve as tombs for the deceased kings and their wives. Many pyramids had “satellite” pyramids for the queens. They were also the focal point of a larger religious complex where priests would carry out rituals to worship the deified kings.   Although modern scholars know the purpose of Egyptian pyramids, their symbolism remains enigmatic. Some scholars argue that the shape of a pyramid represents the sun’s rays giving life to the reborn king. Others have suggested they represent the primordial mound of creation from Egyptian mythology.   New Kingdom Egyptian Architecture Ramesseum Temple, West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor), Egypt, c. 1279-1213 BCE. Source: Copyright Jared Krebsbach.   After the 4th dynasty, pyramids were still built but declined in size and quality. Little remains of the pyramids built in the Middle Kingdom because they were made with mud brick rather than sandstone cores. The next major Egyptian architectural innovations happened during the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1069 BCE).   New Kingdom Egypt is known for its empire that stretched far south into Nubia and north into the Levant, which brought wealth into the Nile Valley. The Egyptians used that wealth to build monumental temples and tombs cut into the side of cliffs. The pyramids remained ancient wonders, but the temples were equally impressive.   The most impressive building activity happened around Thebes (modern-day Luxor) in Upper Egypt. The temples of Karnak, Luxor, Medinet Habu, and the Ramesseum are among the largest and best preserved temples. These New Kingdom temples were built of stone to endure time and were added to by subsequent kings. Like rings on a tree, kings added pylon gateways, chapels, and temples within temples to create massive labyrinths. The later Greek and Roman rulers were so impressed with the New Kingdom temples that they modeled new temples on them.   Architecture in Ancient Mesopotamia Ziggurat of Ur, Mesopotamian, c. 2112-2095 BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   As the Egyptians were building their pyramids, hundreds of miles to the east between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, people were building equally impressive architectural monuments. Unlike ethnically homogenous Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia comprised many different peoples, although the different groups shared similar beliefs and architectural styles. The most impressive of all Mesopotamian monuments was the ziggurat.   Ziggurats, which means “temple-tower,” were triangular-shaped temples that looked similar to Egyptian pyramids, but served very different functions. Pyramids were tombs and temple complexes for the deified kings, while ziggurats had many purposes. Ziggurats did function as temples, but they were also used as scribal schools and astronomical observatories. Like pyramids, ziggurat construction evolved over a considerable period before they arrived at their final, most revered form.   The predecessors to the ziggurat were simple towers built on top of platforms, first built by the Sumerians during the Uruk Period (c. 3500-2900 BCE). Each ziggurat was dedicated to a particular god or goddess, and it was believed that the complex served as the earthly home of the patron deity. The tower itself likely symbolized the mountain home of the deity. Although ziggurats were well built, they were made of mud brick, which is why only fragments remain today.   Chronology of Some Notable Ziggurats Foundation figurine of Ur-Nammu, Mesopotamia c. 2112-2095 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   The first true ziggurats were built during the Sumerian Ur III dynasty (c. 2112-2004 BCE) and from there quickly spread across the region. The best known and preserved ziggurat is the Ziggurat of Ur, built by King Ur-Nammu (ruled c. 2112-2095 BCE). The ziggurat honored the moon-god, Sin, and stood in the center of a massive temple complex in the dynasty’s capital city of Ur. The base of the ziggurat measures 190 by 130 feet and possibly 100 feet in height, although only two levels remain. Today, most Assyriologists believe there were three levels.   After the collapse of the Ur dynasty, ziggurat building was adopted by other ethnic groups and dynasties in Mesopotamia and beyond. Babylon became the cultural and political center of Mesopotamia for much of the second millennium and ziggurat building likely took place there. Unfortunately, ancient Babylon is now covered by farmland and the suburbs of Baghdad, leaving little evidence of ziggurats. More archaeological evidence has been uncovered just east of Mesopotamia in Elam and the northern Mesopotamian region of Assyria.   Al-Untash-Napirisha Ziggurat, Elam, Southern Iran, c. 1275-1240 BCE. Source: UNESCO.   During the early Bronze Age, the Elamites established a kingdom just east of Mesopotamia in what would today be southwestern Iran. By the late Bronze Age, an Elamite dynasty ruled lands as wealthy and powerful as their more famous Near Eastern neighbors. The Elamite King Untash-Napirisha (ruled c. 1275-1240 BCE) founded the city of Al-Untash-Napirisha (Choga Zanbil), and a massive ziggurat was its crown jewel.   The ziggurat was dedicated to Napirisha, the primary Elamite god, and Inshushinak, the patron god of the Elamite capital city of Susa. Millions of baked bricks were used to build the ziggurat, and today it is the best-preserved ziggurat in the Near East.   The ziggurat-building tradition continued in the Near East after the Bronze Age collapse in around 1200 BCE. The Assyrians built a number of ziggurats in their homeland. The most notable of these were built by Assurnasirpal II (reigned 883-859 BCE), who built a large ziggurat next to his palace in the capital city of Nimrud. Sargon II (ruled 721-705 BCE) also built an impressive palace and ziggurat in his capital city of Dur-Sharrukin. Sargon’s ziggurat stood 143 feet high and possibly had seven different levels. In addition to the Assyrians making their ziggurats bigger, they also added the feature of connecting the royal palace to the ziggurat.   Glazed ceramic wall depicting a lion, Babylon, c. 604-562 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   One final post-Bronze Age ziggurat worth mentioning is the Etemenanki Ziggurat in Babylon. This ziggurat, whose name is translated into English as the “House of the Frontier between Heaven and Earth,” was built by Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 604-562 BCE). The Etemenanki Ziggurat was dedicated to Marduk, the patron of Babylon, and was very likely the inspiration for the Old Testament “Tower of Babel” in Genesis 11:4.   Minoan Architecture North Portico of the Palace of Knossos, Minoan Crete, c. 2000-1600 BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   The island of Crete is the location of Europe’s first advanced society, the Minoans. Named for King Minos of Greek myth by British archaeologist Arthur Evans in the early 20th century, the Minoan culture rose by about 2000 BCE.   The Minoans were a naval power who controlled trade in the Aegean until about 1600 BCE and are credited with many contributions to classical Greek culture. The Greeks inherited sports and some elements of art from the Minoans, but the classical Greeks inherited little of Minoan architecture.   Minoan architecture is often referred to as “palace architecture” because the most impressive structures have the appearance of palaces. The most notable of these structures are located in Knossos, Malia, and Phaistos, but the reality is that modern scholars are only beginning to understand their purpose.   The language of the Minoans—Linear A—is still undeciphered. Consequently many elements of their culture remain open to conjecture. Archaeologists now believe that serving as royal palaces was only one of the purposes of these large structures.   Fresco of boys boxing from Thera, Minoan Crete, c. 1600 BCE. Source: National Archaeological Museum, Athens.   The layout of these structures was similar at each site, although the size varied. Most of these “palaces” were large squares with several adjoining rooms, hallways, and at least one open court area. The complexes are believed to have been multifunctional, combining economic, political, and religious elements. The royal family may have lived in a part of the complex, and certain areas were off-limits to the public.   The palace complexes at Phaistos and Knossos had large courtyards that archaeologists call “theatrical areas.” These areas were likely semipublic for sporting and musical events and religious rituals. It was in these theatrical areas where the famous bull leaping took place that the Minoans documented on their beautiful frescoes.   Minoan palace complexes resembled contemporary Near East temples rather than later Mycenean or classical Greek temples. What Minoan palaces represented and how they functioned is perhaps best described by Donald Preziosi and Louise Hitchcock.   “A Minoan palace may best be understood as a theory or diagram of an ideal integration of the component parts of Minoan life and society, assembled together in a sophisticated architectural package, itself harmoniously integrated into its environment.”   Mycenaean Architecture Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae, Greece, c. 13th century BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   Minoan society collapsed by 1600 BCE, probably due to a combination of warfare between the Minoan states and the eruption of a volcano on the island of Thera. The Mycenaeans, Greek-speaking people from mainland Greece, quickly moved in to fill the void. The Myceneans conquered Crete by 1450 BCE and took control of most of the Aegean. Between 1300 and 1230 BCE, the Mycenaeans built a large palace in the settlement of Pylos on the Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece that in many ways was the hallmark of Mycenaean architecture.   The Pylos palace consisted of four separate structures, including a two-story building with a throne on the east wall of the courtyard. This is where the megaron, a large circular courtyard, was located. Megara were common features in Bronze Age Greece. Archaeologists know that Pylos was a palace from Linear B tablets discovered there. Other important Mycenaean palaces may have included Mycenae, Tiryns, and a Mycenaean-era palace at Knossos. While no extant Linear B tablets definitively state these were palaces, their size and structure resemble the palace at Pylos.   Early Mycenean Krater, Maroni, Cyprus, c. 14th century BCE. Source: British Museum, London.   Archaeologists have determined that the techniques used by the Mycenaeans to build their palaces were probably inherited from the Minoans. Timber and rubble cores were used in the interior of the walls, just like the Minoans, while exterior walls were made of ashlar blocks or porous limestone. The blocks were cut into “V” shapes for fitting, just as the Minoans did on Crete.   One final piece of Mycenaean architecture that deserves mention are the circular tombs. Known as tholos tombs, they were located next to the palaces at the major sites. When several tholos tombs were located in the same vicinity, they created a “beehive” effect that still creates quite a stunning visual.   The largest and most impressive of all the tholos tombs is located at Mycenae. The so-called “Treasury of Atreus” was once believed to have been associated with the legendary King Atreus, but it is not known for whom the tomb was built. It was cut into a hillside and is nearly fifty feet in diameter and 118 feet in length. It was likely the tomb of a Mycenaean ruler and his family, but there are no extant inscriptions to confirm the information.

  Supported by a crew, Teddy Roosevelt, Kermit, and a Brazilian explorer, Candido Rondon, canoed the Rio da Duvida—“River of Doubt”—a notoriously dangerous and little-explored waterway of the Amazon. Two months into the trip that began in December 1913, the president wrote to his sister, finally acknowledging Kermit’s relentless quest to emulate his famous father.   “Kermit causes me much concern; he is altogether too bold, pushing daring into recklessness…the fear of some fatal accident befalling him [is] always a nightmare to me.”   The concern was too little, too late.   The Strenuous Life Theodore Roosevelt mountain climbing in the West, 1880. Source: Library of Congress   Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, enthusiastically promoted what he called “the strenuous life”—a state of heightened physical and psychological engagement inculcated in him by his father, also Theodore, an investment banker with the family firm Roosevelt and Sons.   In 1871, young Teddy, 13, was a weak, awkward, and asthmatic child who wore glasses, then the mark of a milquetoast. To invigorate the boy, Theodore Sr. and his wife Martha set up a gymnasium on the second floor of their townhouse on East 20th Street in Manhattan. Teddy, who was home-schooled, added to his routine lifting weights, using the horizontal bars, and punching a heavy boxing bag.   When bullies ragged him, his father hired a professional pugilist to train him to defend himself. By 16, young Roosevelt was spending hours working out. He devoted his summers to running, hiking, hunting, and rowing. Being of old money and high social status, the Roosevelts could have coasted on their family fortune, but the father and son spurned the comfortable path—in the former’s case, leading to an untimely death at 46.   The son attended Harvard College, where he met Alice Hathaway Lee. They married shortly after his graduation in 1880. Alice died in 1882 from an undiagnosed kidney failure two days after giving birth to a daughter, also Alice. Distraught, Theodore threw himself into public affairs, and that same year, his attacks on corruption gained him a seat in the New York State Assembly. He toggled between politics and ranching in the Dakota Badlands. In 1885, he rekindled a youthful romance with Edith Kermit Carow, three years his junior. The couple wed in London, England, on December 2, 1886. That winter, severe weather wiped out Theodore’s cattle, prompting him to sell off his Western interests.   The Ascendence of Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt speaking to his supporters, 1919. Source: Library of Congress   In 1887, Roosevelt and Edith took up residence at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York. Theodore spent the next few years writing and publishing to recuperate his losses from the Dakota venture. By decade’s end, he authored nine books, including the multi-volume history of the American West, The Winning of the West.   In 1889, Theodore took a step up in his career by accepting the US Civil Service Commissioner position in Washington DC. In his six-year tenure at the helm, Roosevelt rooted out administrative corruption through reforming the spoils system into one based solely on merit.   In August 1894, while living with his family in DC, Theodore was once more plagued by tragedy when his younger brother Elliot, 34, lost his drawn-out battle with alcohol and morphine addiction. Frequent bouts with depression resulted in a casual drinking problem in young adulthood, morphing into alcoholism by the time he was thirty.   Elliot had abandoned his wife and three children, the middle girl being Eleanor Roosevelt. Elliott spent a short stint in an asylum on a writ of lunacy before moving to New York City under an assumed name to live with his mistress. The ostracized Roosevelt died a few days after complications from an unsuccessful suicide attempt.   Theodore later wrote that Elliott “was like some stricken, hunted creature” who was pursued by “the most terrible demons that ever entered a man’s body and soul.”   Theodore Roosevelt as he makes a name for himself in the Republican Party, 1901. Source: Library of Congress   Following his brother’s death, Roosevelt and his family returned to Sagamore Hill. In 1895, he accepted the position of New York City’s police commissioner. Theodore’s love for the job sustained him, and the press quickly gave him the moniker “Teddy the Scorcher” for his relentless fight against corruption.   As Roosevelt’s political stock rose in the Republican Party, President McKinley appointed him the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897, a post he resigned to lead the Rough Riders cavalry unit in the Spanish-American War. In 1900, Roosevelt’s popularity was such that McKinley, running for reelection, chose him as his running mate. Not quite a year later, an assassin’s bullets put Theodore Roosevelt, 42, in the White House.   Growing up Roosevelt President Theodore Roosevelt and Family (Kermit third from the right), 1903. Source: Library of Congress   Edith and Theodore Roosevelt had six children—four sons and two daughters, the eldest being Alice, Theodore’s daughter from his first marriage. She was joined by Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin.   Teddy adored his children and was their most valued playmate. He led them on hikes, hunts, swims, and horseback rides. Under fire on San Juan Hill, he had collected spent cartridges to bring home as souvenirs for them. He told the boys that defending and advancing the nation ranked highest among Americans’ every duty and privilege. He once said he would rather his children “die than have them grow up weaklings.”   Her father’s ascent to the presidency made Alice, 17, a celebrity and fashion plate. Outspoken and unconventional, she thrived on attention. Stepmother Edith cautioned daughter Ethel, 10, not to model herself after her half-sister. The Roosevelt boys—the youngest lads to live in the White House since Abraham Lincoln’s sons—made for good newspaper and magazine copy. Reporters wrote of the lads transporting their favorite pony, Algonquin, on the presidential mansion’s elevator, frightening visiting officials with a four-foot snake, and dropping water balloons onto White House guards’ heads.   A young Kermit Roosevelt with his dog. Source: Library of Congress   Emulating their father, Teddy’s boys strove to be honorable, fearless, and uncompromising—but also, like him, they were not exempt from troubles. Eldest son Theodore Jr. served in the New York State Assembly, became undersecretary of the Navy, and unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of New York in 1924, losing to Al Smith, a candidate endorsed by his cousin Eleanor and her husband, Franklin. He served in both World Wars—dying of a heart attack one month after landing at Normandy on D-Day.   Archie, a boisterous child and avid animal lover, also served in the wars—he was badly wounded in the great war—after which he established a successful brokerage house in New York City.   Youngest son Quentin was the golden child—funny, fearless, academically gifted, mechanically brilliant—and doomed to die young at war.   All the boys looked up to their father, but Kermit most fully embraced his ethos. Like his dad, a sickly child drawn to the strenuous life, he nonetheless differed from his parent. Resembling Theodore’s late brother Elliott, Kermit was irritable, easily bored, and given to depression. When an elementary schoolmate mocked Kermit’s father, then at war in Cuba, he beat up the naysayer.   Theodore fostered in Kermit a love of languages, the humanities, and poetry, balanced by adventures that Kermit anticipated enthusiastically. By 18, as a Harvard freshman, he was athletic, an avid reader of history, a daring outdoorsman, and a curious traveler who, in time, mastered many languages, including Greek, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Arabic, Hindustani, Urdu, and Romany.   Kerimt’s Recklessness  Kermit and his father Theodore Roosevelt, 1910. Source: Library of Congress   When Theodore Roosevelt, looking to recharge upon leaving the presidency in 1909, decided to go on safari in Africa under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, he enlisted Kermit, just finishing his first year at Harvard, as his fellow hunter and confidant. A skilled horseman and a fair shot, the son suspended his studies to participate in the Smithsonian-Roosevelt Expedition.   He proved industrious, independent, and fearless. Comparing him to the timid boy he had been in a letter to Theodore Jr., Theodore wrote that Kermit “is a little too reckless and keeps my heart in my throat, for I worry about him all the time…he is a bold rider, always cool and fearless, and eager to work all day long.”   Theodore’s letters mentioned Kermit running down and singlehandedly killing giraffes and hyenas. In one episode, “he stopped a charging leopard within six yards of him after it had mauled one of our porters.”   Kermit and a guide disappeared into the bush for two months to hunt lions, prompting his father to write, “When Kermit shows a reckless indifference to consequences when hunting, I feel like beating him.”   Kermit during one of his many adventures – this time in Mesopotamia, 1918. Source: Library of Congress   Returning to Harvard and graduating in 1912, Kermit impressed his father by relocating to Brazil, whose undeveloped interior was a massive mystery. He worked for the Brazil Railway Company and built bridges for the Anglo-Brazilian Iron Company. He narrowly escaped death when a collapsing span dropped him hundreds of feet and buried him in debris. He met and fell in love with Belle Willard, daughter of the US Ambassador to Spain. Kermit’s father, again taking to the wild to recharge—this time after a crushing defeat as a third-party candidate for president in 1912—invited Kermit on a 1913-14 river journey in a remote region of Brazil.   Originating as a series of lectures in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, the project evolved into a leisurely specimen-gathering expedition well-suited to a man of advancing years and middling health. Financed by the American Museum of Natural History, the trip again changed at the suggestion of Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lauro Muller. Now, Theodore Roosevelt and Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon would explore the uncharted River of Doubt. Roosevelt encouraged his son to postpone his wedding and light out with him into the unknown. Kermit agreed.   Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition Theodore Roosevelt standing over Kermit (middle), ca. 1913. Source: Library of Congress   From the beginning, the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition tested Kermit’s devotion to his father’s “strenuous life.” Participants were constantly sick, injured, and feverish from malaria and insect bites; Theodore, at times, was near death.   Rather than lightweight North American-style canoes, they were paddling hollowed-log dugouts, heavy but also fragile, forcing frequent stops to replace vessels. Moving at a crawl, supplies dwindling, the party looked to the elder Roosevelt for motivation that wound up coming from his son.   Staggered by malaria, the younger Roosevelt pressed on. His hunting, tracking, and canoeing skills proved invaluable. He refused quinine for his own fever, aches, and diarrhea lest there not be enough of the drug for his father. Only when Kermit was too weak to resist could the expedition doctor inject him and restore his health.   Canoeing with a guide, Kermit attempted to paddle across the river at a point his father thought too dangerous. The current overturned the dugout, hurling its occupants into the water and dragging them under just upriver from a waterfall. The guide drowned. Kermit, blinded and choking, careened over the falls and, despite his waterlogged clothing, kept afloat until he could pull himself onto shore. Drenched and exhausted, he seemed unapologetic about his escapade and his companion’s death.   In his journal that night, Theodore acknowledged that his son had a “very narrow escape.” Had they lost Kermit, he admitted, he did not think he could have survived having to deliver “bad tidings to his betrothed and to his mother.” Though Kermit’s disregard for safety rattled Theodore, he could not hide his pride. “Kermit has really become not only an excellent hunter but also a responsible and trustworthy man, fit to lead,” Theodore wrote.   Kermit: A Roosevelt in His Own Right Kermit Roosevelt. Photograph by Harris and Ewing. Source: Library of Congress   Kermit and Belle Willard married in 1914. The couple settled in Argentina, where Kermit secured employment as an assistant manager for the National City Bank in Buenos Aires. The young Roosevelts stayed in South America until 1917, when Kermit could no longer withstand the United States’ isolationist policy towards World War I.   Having grown up hearing his father extol combat as a mark of manhood, he initially enlisted in the US Army in 1917 but, itchy to fight, resigned his commission and joined the British Army. Kermit’s wife moved to Europe with her husband, first to Britain, then to France, where Roosevelt was promptly assigned a position on the staff of General Maud, operating against the Turks in Mesopotamia.   Kermit was transferred to the front with the Motor Machinegun Corps. He was employed with the mounted cavalry unit raiding Turkish forces, quelling Arab uprisings, and participating in major attacks on the Euphrates and Persian front at Kifri.   Speaking of his experiences in the Rolls Royce armored car, Kermit recalled “splinters of lead [coming] in continuously,” with “the great heat of the summer,” making the inside of the turret “a veritable fiery furnace.”   In the spring of 1918, Kermit received his desired transfer to the American Expeditionary Force. In a phrase of the day, he had a good war, serving with distinction in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that ended the conflict on November 11, 1918.   (From left to right) Richard Darby, Archie Roosevelt, Eleanor, and Kermit Roosevelt during World War 1. Source: Library of Congress   Kermit’s three brothers also had taken up arms. Wounded in France serving with the US 1st Infantry Division, Archie accepted a discharge with full disability. Ted Jr., gassed and wounded in the AEF, barely emerged from the conflict alive. Quentin died at 20, shot down over France during the Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918.   His grief-stricken parents retreated to Islesboro Island, Maine, where the ebullient Theodore collapsed into himself, writing few letters, hardly speaking on the telephone, and staring at the sea for hours.   Writing to fellow Rough Rider Bob Ferguson, Theodore Roosevelt clung to his oft-professed values. “It is bitter that the young should die,” he told Ferguson. “[yet] there are things worse than death, for nothing under Heaven would I have had my sons act otherwise than as they acted.” He never recovered from Quentin’s death, himself dying in January 1919.   Living Up to the Legacy Kermit Roosevelt with his family. Source: Library of Congress   Kermit carried on. He and Belle had four children. In 1919, the family settled in New York, where Kermit started building his shipping empire, the Roosevelt Steamship Company. Throughout the 1920s, his company’s consolidation of many smaller shipping businesses eventually made Kermit the manager of eight steamship companies operating as far as Australia and the Far East.   Periodically leaving his family in New York, Kermit, chasing more thrills, undertook numerous expeditions, including, with brother Ted, a 1925 trek through the uncharted Himalayas and a 1928-29 Asiatic foray.   Like his father, Kermit also turned to writing. His book, War in the Garden of Eden, detailed his World War I experience in Mesopotamia, while his East of the Sun and West of the Moon, written together with his brother Ted Jr., chronicled their later Himalayas and Asian hunting excursions. In a collection of essays describing his life travels, The Happy Hunting Grounds, Kermit evoked his father’s creed of a strenuous life when he opened with, “It is when men are off in the wilds that they show themselves as they really are.”   The 1930s witnessed the emergence of another Roosevelt – Franklin Delano, a Democrat. Even though he was married to Theodore’s niece Eleanor, FDR was only a distant cousin of the Oyster Bay clan and not highly regarded by them. Ted Jr. dismissed Franklin as a “maverick” who “[did] not have the breed of our family.”   When Franklin was elected President in 1932, Ted Jr. was appalled to learn that Kermit had voted for the Democrat. Kermit and Belle were friendly with the now governor of New York and his wife, Eleanor. The relationship stemmed from Franklin and Kermit frequenting the same social circles and New York City’s meeting clubs of world travelers, bankers, and heads of business and industry.   Descent into Darkness Kermit and Belle, 1928. Source: Library of Congress   While the Great Depression saw the rise of Franklin and Eleanor, Kermit and Belle’s fortunes took a turn for the worse. The Depression, having severely affected the shipping industry, sapped Kermit’s finances and set him back on his heels.   Although still employed and working throughout the decade, the economic pressures of a failing business forced Kermit and Belle to balance their investment losses and living expenses against their low income. By 1933, they overdrew their Fifth Avenue Bank account on so many occasions that they suspended writing checks altogether.   The unpaid bills forced the couple to give up many things they once took for granted. Not even a savings of $20 for dropping Belle’s membership in the Child Study Association of America was too trivial. In 1937, Kermit canceled his subscription to the New York Times and resigned from the Tennis and Racquet Club and the Explorers Club.   Kermit’s already fragile temperament and predisposition to mental depression began to put a strain on the family. Unable to afford to travel and deprived of topics to write about added another layer to his malaise. As the unpaid bills stockpiled, Roosevelt drank and ran around on Belle, disappearing for weeks, returning half-drunk to apologize, only to repeat the pattern.   The onset of another war offered redemption and distraction. Thinking of reprising his first martial experience, in 1940, Kermit importuned British prime minister Winston Churchill for a commission. Churchill assigned him command of a unit among those sent to repel the Soviets from Finland and then to North Africa to fight the Germans. He mocked the monotony of patrols and drills in Africa, backsliding into drink. In early 1941, the British Army ordered him to England for a medical discharge.   A Tragic End to a Tragic Life  Newspaper announcement of Kermit Roosevelt’s death. Source: New York Daily News, June 6, 1943   Kermit returned to Belle a physical and mental wreck. His efforts to kick alcohol led to a dependency on paraldehyde, a drug used to cure acute alcohol intoxication. Liver enlarged, teeth ruined, stomach churning with flareups of malaria, Kermit was mired in depression. In June 1941, he vanished again. Belle, who was close with FDR and Eleanor from before the Depression, asked the president to send the FBI after him.   Within weeks, agents found him in New York City, bruised from a beating by a cab driver. Archie Roosevelt committed his older brother to a sanitarium in Hartford, Connecticut. Released that autumn, Kermit again disappeared, this time with mistress Carla Peters. In early 1942, the FBI found the couple in California, Kermit a stumbling drunk.   Instead of bringing him home to New York, Archie and Belle booked Kermit into the sanitarium in Hartford while they plotted a longer-term solution. Archie and Ted Jr. engineered a US Army commission for their troubled sibling. The US Army Air Corps assigned Kermit to a base at Fort Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. He was to establish and train a territorial militia of Indigenous Alaskans meant to function as an insurgent force should the Japanese, who had seized several of the Aleutian Islands, attack mainland Alaska.   Kermit briefly regained a sense of purpose until liver and stomach trouble caused internal bleeding. After a hospitalization, he returned to Fort Richardson in May 1943. On June 3, 1943, after saying goodbye to a friend, he retired to his room, sat on the edge of his bed, put his .45 pistol under his chin, and pulled the trigger. He was buried at the fort’s cemetery beneath a regulation-issue headstone. He was 53 years old.

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