THE HOOVER EXHIBIT
U.S. Embassy Brussels
Office of
Public Diplomacy
BIOGRAPHY
The
son of a Quaker blacksmith, orphaned at an early age, Hoover achieved
international success as a mining engineer and world-wide gratitude as
“The Great Humanitarian” who fed war torn Europe during and after World
War I. In the process he developed a unique philosophy - one balancing
responsibility for the welfare of others with an unshakable faith in
free enterprise and dynamic individualism. In time this would lead him
to feed a billion people in 57 countries.
Elected 31st President of the United States in a 1928 landslide, within a few short months the global hero had become a scapegoat in his own land. Even today, Hoover remains indelibly linked with the Great Depression that put millions of his countrymen out of work in the 1930’s. His 1932 defeat at the hands of Franklin D. Roosevelt left Hoover’s once bright reputation in shambles.
Yet he refused to fade away. In one of history’s most remarkable comebacks Hoover returned at Harry Truman’s behest to avert global famine at the end of the Second World War and to reorganize the executive branch of government. By the time of his death in October, 1964, Hoover had regained much of the luster once attached to his name.
Chronological ...
1874 Hoover was born on August 10 in West Branch, Iowa.
1891 Hoover entered Stanford University. Graduated in
1895 with a degree in geology.
1895 Worked in California gold mine, 10 hours a day, 20
cents per hour. Then took a job as typist in engineering office of Louis
Janin, when no engineering positions were open.
1899 Married Lou Henry, fellow geology student at
Stanford.
1901 Hoover became a partner in Bewick, Moreing
and began traveling all over the world.
1914 Hoover helped Americans stranded in Europe, because
of WWI, return home. Became Chairman of the Commission for Relief in
Belgium.
1919 Hoover directed the American Relief Administration
which fed 350 million people in 21 countries in the aftermath of the
war.
1921 Served as Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinets
of President Harding and Coolidge.
1928 Hoover elected President of the United States. Served
as 31st President of the United States.
1930 Construction began on Hoover Dam.
1932 Defeated for reelection by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1936 Hoover served as chairman of Boys’ Club of America
and helped establish 500 new Boys’ Clubs.
1939 Hoover worked as Chairman of committees to raise
funds for Polish, Finnish, and Belgian relief.
1958 Hoover served as the United States representative to
the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium - his last official act.
1964 Herbert Hoover died in New York City at the age of
90. Buried in West Branch, Iowa.
Source: Hoover Presidential Library
