If you are feeling lonely this Valentine’s Day, remember that a) it is a silly celebration, and b) Teddy Roosevelt had a way worse Valentine’s Day than you are currently experiencing. The year was 1884 and, on that day, 25-year-old TR lost both his wife and his mother – the former of Bright’s disease (undiagnosed) and the latter of typhoid fever. His wife died in his arms. She was 22 and had given birth to their daughter, the formidable Alice Roosevelt Longworth, only two days earlier. Here is his diary entry for that day:

(Now, if you are actually having as bad a Valentine’s Day as TR, or even worse, I am so sorry.)