Who is famous for saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far"?

Question

Was it a US President?

Answer 1

its a West African proverb spoken by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as T.R. and to the public as Teddy, was the 26th President of the United States (1901–1909). At age 42, he was the youngest President in American history, succeeding to the office upon the assassination of President William McKinley. Within the Republican Party he was a Progressive reformer who sought to bring his party's conservative ideals into the 20th century. He broke with his friend and appointed successor William Howard Taft and ran as a third-party candidate in 1912 on the Progressive Party ticket.

Before 1901, Roosevelt served as a New York State assemblyman, Police Commissioner of New York City, U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy. He organized and helped command the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the "Rough Riders", during the Spanish-American War. As a war hero he was elected Republican governor of New York in 1898. He was a professional historian, naturalist and explorer of the Amazon Basin; his 35 books, listed online [1], include works on outdoor life, natural history, U.S. Western and political history, and his autobiography.

Roosevelt understood the strategic significance of the Panama Canal, and negotiated for the U.S. to take control of its construction in 1904. It was completed in 1914, after he left office. He felt that the Canal's completion was his most important and historically significant international achievement. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize, winning its Peace Prize in 1906 for his successful mediation of the Russo-Japanese War. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in January 2001. He preached and lived the "strenuous life," ridiculing the sedentary life of luxury and attempting the most strenuous and dangerous feats--which finally cost his life. [Dalton 2002] Historian Thomas Bailey once concluded, "Roosevelt was a great personality, a great activist, a great preacher of the moralities, a great controversialist, a great showman. He dominated his era as he dominated conversations....the masses loved him; he proved to be a great popular idol and a great vote getter." [1] His image stands alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on the Mount Rushmore monument. Surveys of scholars have consistently ranked him from #3 to #7 on the list of greatest American presidents. On June 26, 2006, Roosevelt, once again, made the cover of Time Magazine with the lead story, "The Making of Modern America - The 20th Century Express": "At home and abroad, Theodore Roosevelt was the locomotive President, the man who drew his flourishing nation into the future."

Answer 2

Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States

Answer 3

Theodore Roosevelt

Answer 4

Theodore Roosevelt

Answer 5

Theodore Roosevelt

Answer 6

The use of this proverb in english appears to have begun with Theodore Roosevelt. He is quoted as saying 'I have always been fond of the West African proverb - speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.'

Answer 7

Yes, Theodore Roosevelt.

Answer 8

Theodore Roosevelt.

Answer 9

Theodore Roosevelt.

Answer 10

Teddy Roosevelt

Answer 11

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, is famous for saying this. He claimed it was a West African proverb, but as of July 2006 (re: TIME magazine), that source hasn't been found.