Bio
Dr. Victor Hugo Stickney (1855-1927) was a pioneering physician in western Dakota Territory, known for his dedication to his patients, often traveling great distances by horseback, buckboard, or train. Born in Plymouth, Vermont, on April 13, 1855, Stickney moved to Dakota Territory in 1883 after completing his medical training at Dartmouth Medical School. In 1885, he married Margaret Hayes.
Stickney first met Theodore Roosevelt in April 1886, after Roosevelt had captured boat thieves in the Killdeer Mountains. Roosevelt, physically exhausted and injured, sought medical help, and Stickney treated him in Dickinson. Their chance encounter led to a lifelong friendship, with Stickney later inviting Roosevelt to deliver a significant Independence Day speech in Dickinson in July 1886, where Roosevelt expressed his admiration for “big things” in America.
Stickney continued his medical practice in the frontier long after Roosevelt’s departure. In 1917, he joined the Medical Corps as a 1st Lieutenant and later served as a medical adviser to North Dakota Governor Lynn J. Frazer.
Stickney passed away on July 26, 1927, in Dickinson, North Dakota, and was one of the first ten individuals inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. He is memorialized at Dickinson State University, where Stickney Hall is named in his honor. His daughter, Dorothy Stickney, became a well-known Broadway actress, and Stickney Auditorium at the university is named after her.
