Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President at Buffalo, New York, on September 14, 1901, and became the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and the third to succeed a martyred Republican President. He was born in New York City, October 27, 1858. He graduated from Harvard and spent some years in traveling; served in the New York Legislature in 1882, 1883 and 1884, and was prominent as a champion of Civil Service Reform. Was Chairman of the New York delegation to the Convention in 1884, and ran for Mayor of New York in 1886, as the Independent candidate, endorsed by the Republicans, but was defeated; was appointed Civil Service Commissioner in May, 1889, by President Harrison, and served till 1895, exhibiting great energy and establishing Civil Service principles in all Executive Departments, acquiring a splendid reputation throughout the country for fearlessness and honesty. He resigned from the Civil Service Commission to accept the appointment of Police Commissioner of New York City in May, 1895, and displayed his usual energy in the suppression of corruption and in the establishment of law and order in New York City. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President McKinley, and worked with great vigor to place the Navy on a proper footing, and the success of the Navy in the Spanish-American war was due in no small degree to his preliminary work. When the war broke out in April, 1898, he resigned his position in the Navy Department and organized a volunteer cavalry regiment, recruited mainly from the Western plains, the members of which were called the "Rough Riders." They were commanded at first by Col. Leonard Wood, and Mr. Roosevelt was made Lieutenant-Colonel. His previous military experience had been several years' service in the New York National Guard. For his gallant conduct at San Juan Hill and in the Cuban campaign he was commissioned Colonel July 11, 1898, though many of the officers at Washington were opposed to him. He was elected Governor of New York in the Fall of 1898. In all of these positions he devoted himself to his work with energy and enthusiasm amazing to all. His published works on American History rank him as one of the great historians of the country, and his interests in out-door sports and his delightful home life have endeared him to the people as a typical American. The nomination for Vice-President came to him unsought and undesired, but in response to the demands of the people he fell in line promptly. Coming to the Presidential Chair under trying circumstances he immediately displayed the highest ability and tact in taking charge of the administration of the national affairs. The policies of President McKinley were pursued without deviation, and President Roosevelt conducted the domestic and foreign affairs in a way that has marked him as a great statesman, and the country and its new possessions are eminently in a condition of prosperity and satisfaction.