Quentin Roosevelt was born 21 December 1919 in Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, United States to Theodore Roosevelt (1887-1944) and Eleanor Butler Alexander (1888-1960) and died 21 December 1948 Basalt Island, Hong Kong, China of unspecified causes. He married Frances Blanche Webb (1917-1995) 12 April 1944 in Blandford Forum, Blandford Forum, Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
Biography
Quentin Roosevelt II was the fourth child and youngest son of Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III and Eleanor Butler Alexander. He was the namesake of his uncle Quentin Roosevelt I, who was killed in action in 1918 during World War I. His elder brothers were World War II veterans Theodore Roosevelt IV and Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt III. He was a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Quentin Roosevelt II was born on November 4, 1919, in Oyster Bay, New York, less than one year since the death of his grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.
Roosevelt published a paper through the American Museum of Natural History in 1934, describing a new species of fossil pronghorn that he and a boyhood friend, Joseph W. Burden, had found in a cave in southern Arizona.[1][2] He attended Harvard College, where he wrote his senior thesis on some Nakhi (Naxi) manuscripts he had collected while visiting Western China at the border of Tibet.[3][4] Life magazine published images from his journey, which he made at the age of 19.[5]
World War II
He graduated from Groton School followed by Harvard College in 1941 and soon after joined the Army. Roosevelt served in the 1st Infantry Division, alongside his father. He served as an artillery officer in the unit.
In 1942, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire from a German aircraft but survived, and returned to service within a year.[6]
During the war, he fought in the Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 1943).[7] Roosevelt was among the first wave of soldiers to land at Omaha Beach while his father landed with the first wave at Utah Beach on D-Day.
Roosevelt earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and French Croix de Guerre for his war service. He was promoted to major by the end of war and left active service.
Death
While serving as the Director of the China National Aviation Corporation, he was killed in a plane crash in Hong Kong, on December 21, 1948. He was 29. His C-54 plane crashed on a mountain on Basalt Island, near Sai Kung. All 35 on board were killed instantly.[8] There is no clear record of recovery or disposition of his remains, but they are believed to have been left on Basalt Island.[9] A memorial gravestone for him is located at his wife's grave in Youngs Cemetery in Oyster Bay, New York.[10] [11] A memorial was placed for him on Basalt Island.
Family
On April 12, 1944, he married Frances Blanche Webb (1917-1995),[12] an American Red Cross worker, at Blandford Forum.
They had three daughters:
- Alexandra Roosevelt,
- Susan Roosevelt (c1948):, Susan graduated from Harvard University with a JD and PhD, and was married to former Governor of Massachusetts, William Floyd Weld (1945); they had five children: David Minot Weld, Ethel Derby Weld, Mary B. Weld, Quentin Roosevelt Weld, and Frances Wylie Weld.[13]
- Anna C. Roosevelt, a noted archaeologist specializing in Amazonia, who won a MacArthur Fellowship. Alexandra married Ronald W. Dworkin.[14]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Alexandra Roosevelt (c1945) | |||
| Susan Roosevelt (c1948) | 1948 New York, United States | William Floyd Weld (1945) | |
| Anna Curtenius Roosevelt (c1948) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Grace Green Roosevelt (1911-1993) | |||
| Theodore Roosevelt (1914-2001) | |||
| Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt (1915-1991) | |||
| Quentin Roosevelt (1919-1948) | 21 December 1919 Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, United States | 21 December 1948 Basalt Island, Hong Kong, China | Frances Blanche Webb (1917-1995) |
Residences
See Also
- Quentin Roosevelt
- Roosevelt family
- Roosevelt in Nassau County, New York
- Roosevelt in Dorset
- Roosevelt in Hong Kong
- wikipedia:en:Quentin Roosevelt II
References
- ^ (1934) "A new species of antilocaprine, Tetrameryx onusrosagris, from a Pleistocene cave deposit in southern Arizona". American Museum Novitates (754): 1–4.
- ^ "Burden's Pronghorn: an Arizona Story". International Wildlife Museum. http://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/exhibits/prehistoric-pronghorn/burdens-pronghorn-an-arizona-story/.
- ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". loc.gov. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html.
- ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". loc.gov. http://memory.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html.
- ^ "LIFE". google.com. 8 January 1940. https://books.google.com/books?id=mj8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Buddhism+-+study+of+its+history+takes+Quentin+Roosevelt+to+Tibet.&pg=PA30.
- ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". https://memory.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html.
- ^ Nye, Logan (21 June 2015). "This father-son team invaded Africa and Normandy together" (in en). https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/father-son-roosevelt-world-war-2.
- ^ "Quentin Roosevelt Killed in Air Crash". New York Times, December 22, 1948
- ^ David Pickerell (19 November 2007). "Basalt Island Crash Investigation". http://www.cnac.org/sundby03.pdf.
- ^ "Circumstances of the Crash on Balsalt Island, Flight originated in Shanghai", Crash of Airplane carrying Quentin Roosevelt II on December 21, 1948, www.cnac.org, http://www.cnac.org/accident015.htm, retrieved 2008-09-30
- ^ "Maj Quentin Roosevelt, II (1919 - 1948) - Find A Grave Memorial". findagrave.com. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Roosevelt&GSiman=1&GScnty=2007&GRid=17653540&.
- ^ "Frances Roosevelt, Portrait Artist, 78", The New York Times, September 13, 1995
- ^ "The Weld's of Harvard Yard", Harvard Magazine, Craig A. Lambert
- ^ "Alexandra Roosevelt Wed To Dr. Ronald W. Dworkin", The New York Times, March 6, 1988