On October 27, 1858, as the chasm between North and South grew even wider, a bright and shining star in the nation's future drew his first breath. On East Twentieth Street, New York Martha Bulloch Roosevelt gave birth to .

             Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.'s second child and first son Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Even though this remarkable man was quoted to be one of the most successful presidents with more passion for what he did than anyone else in the world, many .

             of his achievements were aquired before he was even president. It was during the summer of 1877, after much work,before his nineteenth birthday that Theodore Roosevelt published his first printed work. The publication was a scientific .

             catalog called The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin Country, N.Y. The work recorded ninety-seven species of birds in thumbnail sketches. After his brief honeymoon at Oyster Bay, Roosevelt enrolled at Columbia Law .

             School. Roosevelt studied hard at Columbia, and in his spare time did research for his first book on the naval history of the War of 1812. When Roosevelt stepped foot into the Assembly for the first time on January 3, 1882, he was the .

             youngest man on the floor at age 23. On January 24, 1882, when a fellow Republican stood up and suggested that the minority party compromise with the majority to beat the Tammany impasse Roosevelt leaped to his feet and gave his .

             first speech on the floor. His speech was a success, and the party took his advice. In February, Roosevelt was appointed as a minority member of the coveted Committee of Cities. Within 48 hours of joining in Committee work, .

             Roosevelt had introduced four bills. These bills were all reform bills, and even though only one of the bills was passed, Roosevelt had began to build his reputation as a young reformer. It didn't take long to realize that about one third of the legislature was corrupt. Roosevelt did a great deal of research and dropped a bombshell on the assembly that he demanded the Judiciary Committee investigate the conduct of Attorney-General, Hamilton Ward, and Judge .