1902 was Theodore Roosevelt’s first full year as U.S. President, and he soon applied his boundless energy to solving the nation’s problems. One of his chief achievements that year was ending five-month strike by the United Mine Workers that threatened to cripple the nation. After four months, the price of coal had jumped from $5 to $14 a ton, and many schools closed because they couldn’t afford coal for heating. Roosevelt finally stepped in and forced both sides to negotiate, ending the stalemate.

In other news of 1902:

• U.S. troops were withdrawn from Cuba, which officially gained independence from Spain on May 20 and became a republic.
• President Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear cub while hunting in Mississippi, deeming it dishonorable.
• Learning of this, Brooklyn candy store owners Morris and Rose Michtom got the President’s permission to produce a stuffed animal called the Teddy Bear in his honor. It became an international sensation.
• Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to ride in a car.
• Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in London.
• The American Automobile Association (“Triple-A”) was founded in Chicago.
• The first Rose Bowl game was played in Pasadena, California. The University of Michigan defeated Stanford, 49 to 0.
• The Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opened in Los Angeles.
• Enrico Caruso became the first well-known performer to make a commercial recording.
• Denmark became the first country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals.
• J.C. Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
• Barnum’s Animal Crackers were introduced.

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