Both Morris and Rose Michtom in the United States and Richard Steiff in Germany are credited with inventing the teddy bear around 1902–1903, inspired by a famous incident involving President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and a political cartoon that popularized the name “Teddy’s bear.”
American origin
- Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn shopkeeper, reportedly created a stuffed bear after seeing Clifford K. Berryman’s 1902 Washington Post cartoon of Roosevelt sparing a bear; he wrote to Roosevelt and received permission to market it as “Teddy’s bear.”
- The Michtoms’ bears became the basis for the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, helping popularize the toy nationally under the Roosevelt-inspired name.
German origin
- In 1902, Richard Steiff, nephew of Margarete Steiff, designed a jointed mohair bear (model “55 PB”), which is widely cited by Steiff as the first jointed teddy bear and a foundational design for modern teddy bears.
- Steiff’s early bears gained rapid recognition, aided by the Roosevelt story’s publicity and subsequent “teddy” naming boom, establishing Steiff as a pioneering manufacturer.
Roosevelt connection
- The naming traces to Roosevelt’s 1902 Mississippi hunting trip, where he refused to shoot a tethered bear; Berryman’s cartoon of the moment spread widely and spurred both the Michtoms’ product name and public enthusiasm.
- The Roosevelt link explains why both the American and German developments converged in public perception under the “teddy bear” name despite parallel invention claims.
