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Tough Teddy and Old Hickory: America’s Most Badass Presidents

Khalid Elhassan December 4, 2024 14 min

Tough - An 1828 woodcut of the Andrew Jackson vs Charles Dickinson duel — An 1828 woodcut of the Andrew Jackson vs Charles Dickinson duel. Wikimedia

11. Teddy Roosevelt Was a Badass Boxer

Tough - A nineteen-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in Harvard — A nineteen-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in Harvard. K-Pics

Teddy Roosevelt went to Harvard, where he boxed and rowed. He was good enough at the former to make it to second place in a boxing tournament. He also got into wrestling, judo, and jiu-jitsu. TR continued to practice martial arts until well into middle age, and kept at when he made it to the White. He was finally forced to stop in 1908, when a punch during a sparring session caused permanent damage to one of his eyes. After Harvard, TR spent a year at Columbia Law School, before he dropped out in 1881 to serve in New York’s State Assembly. His political career showed early promise, and he made a name for himself, especially with efforts against corporate corruption. Then came 1884, a truly terrible year for the future president.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.