Morris Michtom
| Morris Michtom | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1870 Russia |
| Died | July 21, 1938 (aged 67–68) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Inventor, businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Rose |
| Children | Emily (1897-1986) |
Morris Michtom (1870 – July 21, 1938), with his wife Rose, invented the Teddy Bear. They founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which after Michtom's death became the largest doll-making company in the United States.
Michtom, was a Russian Jewish immigrant who arrived in New York in 1887. He sold candy in his shop at 404 Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn by day and made stuffed animals with his wife Rose at night.
The Teddy Bear was inspired by a cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman depicting Teddy Roosevelt having compassion for a bear at the end of an unsuccessful hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902. Michtom saw the drawing and created a tiny plush bear cub which he sent to Roosevelt. After receiving permission to use Roosevelt's name, Michtom put a plush bear in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear." After the creation of the bear in 1902, the sale of the bears was so brisk that in 1907 Michtom created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.
Morris' daughter Emily had been in over 40 episodes of a TV show called Get Smart
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