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For more than 100 years there has been confusion over the
proper pronounciation of "Roosevelt."
One of Theodore Roosevelt's great-grandchildren
wrote Dr. Zebra in no uncertain terms that the
desired pronounciation rhymes the first syllable with "rose."
He wrote:
If further proof is necessary there was
a wonderful exchange of letters in the New York Sun
in 1903 between Richard E. Mayne (Chairman, Department of
Reading and Speech Culture, NY State Teachers Association) and
Robert B. Roosevelt, uncle of Theodore. (TR asked him to answer the
Professor's letter, believing correctly in was improper for him as
President to attack a private citizen.) After a short introduction R.B. Roosevelt
declares "It is rather a dangerous proceeding to assume
that a man does not know how to pronounce his own name"
and goes on with great fun from there. ... It has been
published in the TRA Journal [TRA = Theodore Roosevelt Association]
several times, most recently I believe in 1990 (Vol. XVI, no 2, pp 84-5).
[Received Feb. 17, 2006; lightly edited]
Different views do exist. According to one, only Franklin Roosevelt's side of the family pronounced it as in "rose,"
while Theodore Roosevelt's
side pronounced as in "roof" [6a].
Dr. Zebra has been unable to locate a copy of the TRA Journal, but
has been converted to the Robert Roosevelt view! |
