It's National Teddy Bear Day

Take a moment to celebrate the well-loved, furry friend to children across the nation on Teddy Bear Day, Sept. 9.

President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt is the inspiration for giving the teddy bear its name. As one of the stories goes, Roosevelt came across a wounded young bear cub in Mississippi in 1902 during a bear hunt and “ordered a mercy killing of the animal,” according to About.com. 

The Washington Post ran an editorial cartoon by Clifford Berryman depicting the event. The story and cartoon became popular, and the cartoon bear eventually became a toy called the teddy bear.

And just who made the first teddy bear? A popular story says Morris Michton who owned a novelty and candy store in Brooklyn, N.Y., sent Roosevelt a toy bear made by his wife to sell in their shop and asked for the president’s permission to use the teddy bear name. He said yes.

Did you have a teddy bear as a kid? What was its name? Tell us in the comments.