Jump to content

Ruth Cleveland: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland Dead |newspaper = The New York Times |date = January 8, 1904 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/01/08/120424168.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |accessdate = August 15, 2023}}
There is dubious evidence for this. The Curtiss Candy Company first said this during a copyright trial against Babe Ruth who tried to sell candy bars under his name. Nestle has no records for the naming of this bar.
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
 
(46 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Daughter of Grover Cleveland}}
{{short description|Daughter of Grover Cleveland (1891–1904)}}
<!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the discussion has been closed. -->
{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Ruth Cleveland|timestamp=20230804031418|year=2023|month=August|day=4|substed=yes|help=off}}
<!-- Once discussion is closed, please place on talk page: {{Old AfD multi|page=Ruth Cleveland|date=4 August 2023|result='''keep'''}} -->
<!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
Line 18: Line 14:
| relatives = [[Esther Cleveland]] (sister)<br>[[Richard F. Cleveland]] (brother)<br>[[Rose Cleveland]] (aunt)<br>[[Marion Cleveland]] (sister)
| relatives = [[Esther Cleveland]] (sister)<br>[[Richard F. Cleveland]] (brother)<br>[[Rose Cleveland]] (aunt)<br>[[Marion Cleveland]] (sister)
}}
}}
'''Ruth Cleveland''' (October 3, 1891 – January 7, 1904), popularly known as '''Baby Ruth''', was the eldest of five children born to [[United States]] President [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Frances Cleveland]].<ref>{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland Dead |newspaper = The New York Times |date = January 8, 1904 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/01/08/120424168.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |accessdate = August 15, 2023}}</ref> Her birth between Cleveland's two terms of office caused a national sensation.{{cn|date=August 2023}} Interest in her continued even after her father's second presidential term was over. A sickly child, Ruth Cleveland contracted [[diphtheria]] on January 2, 1904. Doctors thought her case was mild, but she died five days after her diagnosis. She is buried in [[Princeton Cemetery]].<ref name="Quinn">{{cite book|last1=Quinn|first1=Sandra L.|last2=Kanter|first2=Sandford|date=1995|title=America's Royalty: All the Presidents' Children|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=[https://archive.org/details/americasroyaltya00quin_0/page/131 131]|isbn=0-313-29535-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americasroyaltya00quin_0/page/131}}</ref><ref>
'''Ruth Cleveland''' (October 3, 1891 – January 7, 1904), popularly known as '''Baby Ruth''' or '''Babe Ruth''', was the eldest of five children born to [[United States]] President [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Frances Cleveland]]. She is the purported namesake of the [[Baby Ruth]] candy bar.
{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland Buried |newspaper = The New York Times |date = September 9, 1904
|url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/01/09/294940632.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
|accessdate = August 13, 2023}}</ref>


==Biography==
==In popular culture==
Cleveland was born in New York City, lived at the [[White House]] and [[Gray Gables]], the family's summer home on [[Cape Cod]].
⚫
The [[Curtiss Candy Company]] asserted that the "[[Baby Ruth]]" candy bar (formerly known as Kandy Kake from 1900 to 1920) was named after Ruth Cleveland. The renaming of the candy bar took place in 1921, thirty years after Ruth Cleveland's birth and seventeen years after her death. That same year, legendary baseball player George Herman Ruth, better known by the nickname [[Babe Ruth]], was nearing the top of his popularity, having just broken the single-season home run record.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/business/names/babyruth.asp |title=Baby Ruth |author= Barbara and David P. Mikkelson |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date=2007-02-21 |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref>
After her father's second term she moved with her family to [[Westland Mansion]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], where she attended [[Princeton Day School|Miss Fine's School]], and died at an early age.<ref name = NYTobit>{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland Dead |newspaper = The New York Times |date = January 8, 1904 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/01/08/120424168.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |accessdate = August 15, 2023}}</ref><ref name="anthony">{{Cite book |last=Anthony |first=Carl Sferrazza |url=https://archive.org/details/firstladiessagao00anth |title=First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power, 1789–1961 |publisher=William Morrow and Company |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-688-11272-1 |language=en |page=273}}</ref>


Ruth's birth between Cleveland's two terms of office caused a national sensation.<ref name = Missoulian>{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland |newspaper = The Missoulian |date = January 4, 1904 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/348680193/?terms=Ruth%20Cleveland&match=1
⚫
As [[Richard Sandomir]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' pointed out, "For 85 years, Babe Ruth, the slugger, and Baby Ruth, the candy bar, have lived parallel lives in which it has been widely assumed that the latter was named for the former. The confection's creator, the Curtiss Candy Company, never admitted to what looks like an obvious connection – especially since Ruth hit 54 home runs the year before the first Baby Ruth was devoured. Had it done so, Curtiss would have had to compensate Ruth. Instead, it eventually insisted the inspiration was "Baby Ruth" Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. But it is an odd connection that makes one wonder at the marketing savvy of Otto Schnering, the company's founder."<ref>"Sandomir, Richard. "Baseball adopts a candy, whatever it's named for". The New York Times (New York: New York Times Company). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2012.</ref>
|accessdate = August 15, 2023 |via = Newspapers. com}}</ref> At a Boston flower show over 40 [[chrysanthemum]] varieties were named in her honor.<ref>{{cite news |title = Babe Ruth |newspaper = The Saint Paul Globe |date = November 20, 1891|url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/81071658/?terms=Ruth%20Cleveland&match=1 |accessdate = August 15, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> Frances dedicated herself to the child, taking on many of the roles that a woman of her status would have typically given to a nurse.<ref name="Dunlap">{{Cite book |last=Dunlap |first=Annette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ENVxNIZtT6IC |title=Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America's Youngest First Lady |publisher=Excelsior Editions |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4384-2817-8 |access-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323144243/https://books.google.com/books?id=ENVxNIZtT6IC |url-status=live |page=74}}</ref> The family did not permit professional photos and expected discretion from amateurs.<ref name = NYTobit/>

In the [[1892 United States presidential election]] Ruth and [[Benjamin Harrison]]'s grandson, Benjamin Harrison McKee, known as Baby McKee, were drawn into campaign competition.<ref name = Missoulian/><ref>{{cite web |title = Baby Ruth and Baby M'Kee |newspaper =Pittsburgh Dispatch |date = November 13, 1891 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-dispatch-baby-ruth-and-baby-m/130212097/ |accessdate = August 15, 2023 |via = Newspapers. com}}</ref> One placard declared: Vote for Papa!<ref>{{cite web |title = Vote for Papa |publisher = thefirstedition.com |year = 1892 |url = https://thefirstedition.com/product/vote-for-papa/ |accessdate = August 16, 2023}}</ref> A song written about them included the lyrics:<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcVnCgAAQBAJ&dq=Baby+McKee+vs+Baby+Ruth&pg=PA27|title=White House Kids: The Perks, Pleasures, Problems, and Pratfalls of the Presidents' Children|first=Joe|last=Rhatigan|year = 2016|publisher=Charlesbridge Publishing |isbn = 9781607344728}}</ref><ref name = Missoulian/>
{{poemquote|
We’re Baby Ruth and Baby McKee,
Lively specimens, you’ll agree
Just as happy as happy can be,
We’ll run the nation’s Presidency!
Which of us wins you’ll very soon see,
Baby Ruth and Baby McKee.}}

A sickly child, Ruth Cleveland contracted [[diphtheria]] on January 2, 1904. Doctors thought her case was mild, but she died of heart failure five days after her diagnosis. She is buried in [[Princeton Cemetery]].<ref name="Quinn">{{cite book|last1=Quinn|first1=Sandra L.|last2=Kanter|first2=Sandford|date=1995|title=America's Royalty: All the Presidents' Children|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=[https://archive.org/details/americasroyaltya00quin_0/page/131 131]|isbn=0-313-29535-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americasroyaltya00quin_0/page/131}}</ref> Following doctor's advice, Mrs. Cleveland did not attend the funeral; [[Woodrow Wilson]], at the time [[List of presidents of Princeton University|the president of Princeton University]], was present.<ref>{{cite news |title = Ruth Cleveland Buried |newspaper = The New York Times |date = September 9, 1904 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/01/09/294940632.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
|accessdate = August 13, 2023}}</ref> The family never returned to Gray Gables after Ruth's death.<ref>{{cite news |last = Coleman |first = Jack |title = Rebuilding on a historic site |newspaper = Cape Cod Times |date = |url = https://eu.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2003/12/07/rebuilding-on-historic-site/50936895007/ |accessdate = August 16, 2023}}</ref>

==Namesake for the Baby Ruth candy bar==
⚫
The [[Curtiss Candy Company]] asserted that the "[[Baby Ruth]]" candy bar was named after Ruth Cleveland. Known as "Kandy Kake" from 1900 to 1920, it was renamed in 1921, thirty years after Ruth Cleveland's birth and seventeen years after her death. That same year, legendary baseball player George Herman Ruth, better known by the nickname [[Babe Ruth]], was nearing the top of his popularity, having just broken the single-season home run record.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/business/names/babyruth.asp |title=Baby Ruth |author= Barbara and David P. Mikkelson |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date=2007-02-21 |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref>

⚫
As [[Richard Sandomir]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' pointed out, "For 85 years, Babe Ruth, the slugger, and Baby Ruth, the candy bar, have lived parallel lives in which it has been widely assumed that the latter was named for the former. The confection's creator, the Curtiss Candy Company, never admitted to what looks like an obvious connection – especially since Ruth hit 54 home runs the year before the first Baby Ruth was devoured. Had it done so, Curtiss would have had to compensate Ruth. Instead, it eventually insisted the inspiration was "Baby Ruth" Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. But it is an odd connection that makes one wonder at the marketing savvy of Otto Schnering, the company's founder."<ref>"Sandomir, Richard. "Baseball adopts a candy, whatever it's named for". ''The New York Times''. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2012.</ref>

Ruth sued the candy company, claiming the candy bar was using his name and not Ruth Cleveland's, but lost the case in 1931.<ref>[https://casetext.com/case/george-h-ruth-candy-co-v-curtiss-candy 1931 case text ''George H. Ruth Candy Company v. Curtiss Candy'']</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 34: Line 48:
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==

{{commons category|Ruth Cleveland}}

*{{Find a Grave|1154}}
*{{Find a Grave|1154}}


Line 41: Line 58:


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Ruth}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Ruth}}

[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
Line 49: Line 67:
[[Category:Children of presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Children of presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Cornell family]]
[[Category:Cornell family]]
[[Category:Grover Cleveland family]]
[[Category:Family of Grover Cleveland]]
[[Category:Respiratory disease deaths in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Respiratory disease deaths in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in New Jersey]]
Line 56: Line 74:
[[Category:Princeton Day School alumni]]
[[Category:Princeton Day School alumni]]
[[Category:Child deaths]]
[[Category:Child deaths]]


{{US-poli-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 17:55, 22 October 2024

Ruth Cleveland
Cleveland in c. 1897
Born(1891-10-03)October 3, 1891
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 7, 1904(1904-01-07) (aged 12)
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placePrinceton Cemetery
EducationMiss Fine's School[1]
Parent(s)Grover Cleveland
Frances Cleveland
RelativesEsther Cleveland (sister)
Richard F. Cleveland (brother)
Rose Cleveland (aunt)
Marion Cleveland (sister)

Ruth Cleveland (October 3, 1891 – January 7, 1904), popularly known as Baby Ruth or Babe Ruth, was the eldest of five children born to United States President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Cleveland. She is the purported namesake of the Baby Ruth candy bar.

Biography

[edit]

Cleveland was born in New York City, lived at the White House and Gray Gables, the family's summer home on Cape Cod. After her father's second term she moved with her family to Westland Mansion in Princeton, New Jersey, where she attended Miss Fine's School, and died at an early age.[2][3]

Ruth's birth between Cleveland's two terms of office caused a national sensation.[4] At a Boston flower show over 40 chrysanthemum varieties were named in her honor.[5] Frances dedicated herself to the child, taking on many of the roles that a woman of her status would have typically given to a nurse.[6] The family did not permit professional photos and expected discretion from amateurs.[2]

In the 1892 United States presidential election Ruth and Benjamin Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison McKee, known as Baby McKee, were drawn into campaign competition.[4][7] One placard declared: Vote for Papa![8] A song written about them included the lyrics:[9][4]

We’re Baby Ruth and Baby McKee,
Lively specimens, you’ll agree
Just as happy as happy can be,
We’ll run the nation’s Presidency!
Which of us wins you’ll very soon see,
Baby Ruth and Baby McKee.

A sickly child, Ruth Cleveland contracted diphtheria on January 2, 1904. Doctors thought her case was mild, but she died of heart failure five days after her diagnosis. She is buried in Princeton Cemetery.[1] Following doctor's advice, Mrs. Cleveland did not attend the funeral; Woodrow Wilson, at the time the president of Princeton University, was present.[10] The family never returned to Gray Gables after Ruth's death.[11]

Namesake for the Baby Ruth candy bar

[edit]

The Curtiss Candy Company asserted that the "Baby Ruth" candy bar was named after Ruth Cleveland. Known as "Kandy Kake" from 1900 to 1920, it was renamed in 1921, thirty years after Ruth Cleveland's birth and seventeen years after her death. That same year, legendary baseball player George Herman Ruth, better known by the nickname Babe Ruth, was nearing the top of his popularity, having just broken the single-season home run record.[12]

As Richard Sandomir of The New York Times pointed out, "For 85 years, Babe Ruth, the slugger, and Baby Ruth, the candy bar, have lived parallel lives in which it has been widely assumed that the latter was named for the former. The confection's creator, the Curtiss Candy Company, never admitted to what looks like an obvious connection – especially since Ruth hit 54 home runs the year before the first Baby Ruth was devoured. Had it done so, Curtiss would have had to compensate Ruth. Instead, it eventually insisted the inspiration was "Baby Ruth" Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. But it is an odd connection that makes one wonder at the marketing savvy of Otto Schnering, the company's founder."[13]

Ruth sued the candy company, claiming the candy bar was using his name and not Ruth Cleveland's, but lost the case in 1931.[14]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Quinn, Sandra L.; Kanter, Sandford (1995). America's Royalty: All the Presidents' Children. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 131. ISBN 0-313-29535-2.
  2. ^ a b "Ruth Cleveland Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. January 8, 1904. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Anthony, Carl Sferrazza (1990). First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power, 1789–1961. William Morrow and Company. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-688-11272-1.
  4. ^ a b c "Ruth Cleveland". The Missoulian. January 4, 1904. Retrieved August 15, 2023 – via Newspapers. com.
  5. ^ "Babe Ruth". The Saint Paul Globe. November 20, 1891. Retrieved August 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dunlap, Annette (2009). Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America's Youngest First Lady. Excelsior Editions. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-4384-2817-8. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "Baby Ruth and Baby M'Kee". Pittsburgh Dispatch. November 13, 1891. Retrieved August 15, 2023 – via Newspapers. com.
  8. ^ "Vote for Papa". thefirstedition.com. 1892. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Rhatigan, Joe (2016), White House Kids: The Perks, Pleasures, Problems, and Pratfalls of the Presidents' Children, Charlesbridge Publishing, ISBN 9781607344728
  10. ^ "Ruth Cleveland Buried" (PDF). The New York Times. September 9, 1904. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Coleman, Jack. "Rebuilding on a historic site". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Barbara and David P. Mikkelson (February 21, 2007). "Baby Ruth". Snopes.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  13. ^ "Sandomir, Richard. "Baseball adopts a candy, whatever it's named for". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  14. ^ 1931 case text George H. Ruth Candy Company v. Curtiss Candy
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruth Cleveland.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruth_Cleveland&oldid=1252726491"