Morris Michtom (September 12, 1869 – July 21, 1938) was a Russian-born businessman and inventor who, with his wife Rose, also a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in Brooklyn, founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Michtom came up with the idea for the

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

in 1902 (the same time Richard Steiff in Germany came up with an idea for a stuffed toy bear with movable limbs). After Michtom's death, the company became the largest doll-making company in the United States.

Biography

Michtom was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family on September 12, 1869, and immigrated to New York in 1887, when he also married his wife, Rose Katz (1867–1937), who was born in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. He sold candy in his shop at 404 Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

by day and made stuffed animals with his wife Rose at night. The teddy bear was inspired by a cartoon by

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman depicting American president

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

—commonly called "Teddy"—having compassion for a bear at the end of an unsuccessful hunting trip in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in 1902. Michtom saw the drawing and created a tiny plush bear cub which he sent to Roosevelt. Michtom put a plush bear in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear." After the creation of the bear in 1902, the sale of the bears was so brisk that in 1907 Michtom created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.True story of the Teddy Bear by The Theodore Roosevelt Association
Theodoreroosevelt.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-01. Michtom died in

, New York on the July 21, 1938, at the age of 68.

References

1870 births 1938 deaths 20th-century American inventors Toy inventors American Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States {{Toy-stub

Biography

See also

References