Herbert Clark Hoover
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10
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Herbert Hoover entered office as the 31st President in March 1929. The stock market crashed seven months later. A self-made millionaire by age 40 through mining engineering, he led the Commission for Relief in Belgium during World War I and later served as Secretary of Commerce. The Great Depression overwhelmed his presidency, and his handling of the Bonus Army march in 1932 led to a landslide defeat by Franklin D. Roosevelt. After leaving office, he oversaw post-WWII relief efforts at President Truman’s request.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Herbert Hoover — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Herbert Hoover by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Herbert Hoover — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Hoover lost both parents by age eight and was raised by relatives who stressed hard work and industry. He was born in West Branch, Iowa, in 1874 to devout Quakers Hulda Randall Minthorn and Jesse Hoover. In 1891 he entered Stanford University’s School of Engineering, graduating in 1895.
Hoover’s engineering career began with Bewick and Moering in Australia and China; he was in China during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, coordinating defenses for trapped Americans. By age 40, he amassed a fortune from mining investments. In 1914, he left engineering to organize the Commission for Relief in Belgium when World War I broke out. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him head of the Food Administration in 1917. As Secretary of Commerce from 1921 to 1928 under Harding and Coolidge, he expanded the department. Elected president in 1928, he took office in March 1929. The stock market crashed in October 1929, leading to the Great Depression. He initially met with business leaders, cut taxes, and increased funding for states, but refused direct relief. In 1932, the Bonus Army eviction by General Douglas MacArthur damaged his reputation. He lost the 1932 election to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Hoover married Lou Henry in 1899; they had two sons, Herbert Jr. and Allan. Both Hoovers spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese and often used it in the White House to converse privately. After Lou’s death in 1944, he moved to New York City’s Waldorf Towers, where he lived for his last twenty years.
Hoover’s legacy combines humanitarian achievement and presidential failure. He founded the Commission for Relief in Belgium and later the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF. The Great Depression overshadowed his presidency, but his post-presidential work—including a 1946 relief effort for Europe at President Truman’s request and chairing a 1953 commission to reform the executive branch—restored some esteem. He died on October 20, 1964 at age 90, the second U.S. president to reach that age.
Browse the complete filmography of Herbert Hoover — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Herbert Hoover — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Herbert Hoover's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
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A wall of memorable lines from Herbert Hoover — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Many Years Ago I Concluded That a Few Hair Shirts Were Part of the Mental Wardrobe of Every Man. the President Differs Only from Other Men in That He Has a More Extensive Wardrobe.
Economic Freedom Cannot Be Sacrificed If Political Freedom Is to Be Preserved.
There Are Only Three Ways to Meet the Unpaid Bills of a Nation. the First Is Taxation. the Second Is Repudiation. the Third Is Inflation.
The Slogan of Progress Is Changing from the Full Dinner Pail to the Full Garage.
The Union Has Become Not Merely a Physical Union of States, but Rather a Spiritual Union in Common Ideals of Our People. Within It Is Room for Every Variety of Opinion, Every Possible Experiment in Social Progress. Out of Such Variety Comes Growth, but Only If We Preserve and Maintain Our Spiritual Solidarity.
When There Is a Lack of Honor in Government, the Morals of the Whole People Are Poisoned.
Children Are Our Most Valuable Natural Resource.
The Glory of the Nation Rests in the Character of Her Men. and Character Comes from Boyhood. Thus Every Boy Is a Challenge to His Elders.
The Thing I Enjoyed Most Were Visits from Children. They Did Not Want Public Office.
I’m the Only Person of Distinction Who Has Ever Had a Depression Named for Him.
No Greater nor More Affectionate Honor Can Be Conferred on an American Than to Have a Public School Named After Him.
Kipling’s ‘Recessional’ Really Did Something to England When It Was Published. It Helped Them Through a Bad Time. Let Me Know If You Find Any Great Poems Lying Around.
Economic Depression Can Not Be Cured by Legislative Action or Executive Pronouncement.
In the Larger View the Major Forces of the Depression Now Lie Outside of the United States, and Our Recuperation Has Been Retarded by the Unwarranted Degree of Fear and Apprehension Created by These Outside Forces.
With Impressive Proof on All Sides of Magnificent Progress, No One Can Rightly Deny the Fundamental Correctness of Our Economic System.
I, with Other Americans, Have Perhaps Unduly Resented the Stream of Criticism of American Life … More Particularly Have I Resented the Sneers at Main Street. for I Have Known That in the Cottages That Lay Behind the Street Rested the Strength of Our National Character.
Prosperity Cannot Be Restored by Raids Upon the Public Treasury.
The President Is Not Only the Leader of a Party, He Is the President of the Whole People. He Must Interpret the Conscience of America. He Must Guide His Conduct by the Idealism of Our People.
This Is Not a Showman’s Job. I Will Not Step Out of Character.
Our Fathers and Grandfathers Who Poured Over the Midwest Were Self Reliant, Rugged, God Fearing People of Indomitable Courage…. They Asked Only for Freedom of Opportunity and Equal Chance. in These Conceptions Lies the Real Basis of American Democracy. They and Their Fathers Give a Genius to American Institutions That Distinguished Our People from Any Other in the World.
I Am Convinced That … We Have Reestablished Confidence. Wages Should Remain Stable. a Very Large Degree of Industrial Unemployment and Suffering Which Would Otherwise Have Occurred Has Been Prevented.
Every Expansion of Government in Business Means That Government in Order to Protect Itself from the Political Consequences of Its Errors and Wrongs Is Driven Irresistibly Without Peace to Greater and Greater Control of the Nation’s Press and Platform. Free Speech Does Not Live Many Hours After Free Industry and Free Commerce Die.
The Recognition of Russia on November 16, 1933, Started Forces Which Were to Have Considerable Influence in the Attempt to Collectivize the United States.
Every Collectivist Revolution Rides in on a Trojan Horse of Emergency. It Was a Tactic of Lenin, Hitler and Mussolini…. the Invasion of New Deal Collectivism Was Introduced by This Same Trojan Horse.
Blessed Are the Young for They Shall Inherit the National Debt.
About the Time We Think We Can Make Ends Meet, Somebody Moves the Ends.
My Country Owes Me Nothing. It Gave Me, as It Gives Every Boy and Girl, a Chance. It Gave Me Schooling, Independence of Action, Opportunity for Service and Honor. in No Other Land Could a Boy from a Country Village, Without Inheritance or Influential Friends, Look Forward with Unbounded Hope.
Words Without Actions Are the Assassins of Idealism.
America a Great Social and Economic Experiment, Noble in Motive and Far Reaching in Purpose.
Above All, We Know That Although Americans Can Be Led to Make Great Sacrifices, They Do Not Like to Be Driven.
Engineering Is a Great Profession. There Is the Satisfaction of Watching a Figment of the Imagination Emerge Through the Aid of Science to a Plan on Paper. Then It Moves to Realization in Stone or Metal or Energy. Then It Brings Homes to Men or Women. Then It Elevates the Standard of Living and Adds to the Comforts of Life. This Is the Engineer’s High Privilege.
A Good Many Things Go Around in the Dark Besides Santa Claus.
Older Men Declare War. but It Is Youth That Must Fight and Die. and It Is Youth Who Must Inherit the Tribulation, the Sorrow, and the Triumphs That Are Aftermath of War.
What the World Needs Today Is a Definite, Spiritual Mobilization of the Nations Who Believe in God Against This Tide of Red Agnosticism. …and in Rejecting an Atheistic Other World, I Am Confident That the Almighty God Will Be with Us. Address Upon the American Road 1948 1950, P66, in Which Hoover Proposed Abolishing the United Nations in Favor of Cooperation of God Fearing Free Nations
Next to Religion, Baseball Has Furnished a Greater Impact on American Life Than Any Other Institution.
The Rigid Volunteer Rules of Right and Wrong in Sports Are Second Only to Religious Faith in Moral Training.
Through Baseball We Channel Boys Desire for Exercise and Let off Their Explosive Violence Without Letting Them Get into the Police Court.
Baseball Is the Greatest of All Team Sports.
The Fate of Civilization Depends on Whether the American People Are Willing to Make a Sacrifice for the Next Four Months, If They Are Willing to Save the World from Chaos.
If We Join the War and Stalin Wins, We Have Aided Him to Impose More Communism on Europe and the World … War Alongside Stalin to Impose Freedom Is More Than a Travesty. It Is a Tragedy.
Little-known facts about Herbert Hoover — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Herbert Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River.
His will, executed in August 1964, left his estate to a trust for his heirs and $140,000 to six female secretaries.
He served as the 31st President of the United States from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933.
Hoover was an eighth cousin once removed of President Richard Nixon.
He famously said, Whatever their politics, they shall be fed! when criticized for sending aid to the Soviet Union.
Inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame in Leadville, Colorado in 1988 as a charter member.
A 5-cent commemorative stamp was issued in his honor on August 10, 1965.
He worked as a mining engineer from 1896 to 1914.
He served as Secretary of Commerce from 1921 to 1928.
Contrary to rumor, he was not related to J. Edgar Hoover.
At the time of his death, he was the fourth longest-lived president, later passed by Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
He was one of three presidents to refuse a salary, alongside John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump.
On May 1, 1931, he officially opened the Empire State Building by pressing a button from the White House.
He was the first of only two Quaker presidents; the second was Richard Nixon.
His name appears in the theme song of the TV series All in the Family.
He and his wife spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese, often using it in the White House for private conversations.
His criticism of FDR’s New Deal as collectivism so angered Roosevelt that he was denied any governmental role during World War II.
After meeting Yogi Berra, Hoover said the baseball star drew more applause than Prime Minister Nehru or himself; Berra replied, ‘I’m a better hitter.
As Secretary of Commerce and as President, he donated his salary to charity, and continued that practice after 1958 when presidential pensions were established.
In 1949, he declined an offer from New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat.
He had German, Swiss, and English ancestry.
On August 10, 1964, he became the second former U.S. president to reach age 90, after John Adams.
Inducted into the defunct Australian Prospectors & Miners’ Hall of Fame.
Inducted into the Philanthropy Hall of Fame.
Due to his charity work, he was considered one of the most admired men in America at the time of his death.
The Hoover Dam, completed in 1936, was named after him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
By age 40, he had mining investments on every continent except Antarctica and a personal fortune of $4 million.
He is one of only three men elected president without prior military service or elected office, along with William Howard Taft and Donald Trump.
His handling of the 1932 Bonus Army march—in which General MacArthur used tear gas and force—outraged the public and contributed to his election loss.
During the 1927 Mississippi River flood, he made a deal with African American leaders to promote black causes if elected, but failed to honor it, leading to a shift of black voters to the Democratic Party.
He held the record for longest presidential retirement until surpassed by Jimmy Carter in 2012.
He was appalled when Winston Churchill rejected Adolf Hitler’s peace offers in July 1940.
He is considered a founder of UNICEF.
Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote in 1920: He is certainly a wonder and I wish we could make him President of the United States.
Along with Harry Truman, he outlived two of his successors: Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
He was ranked among the ten greatest living Americans in a New York Times poll.
Received the National Football Foundation’s Gold Medal in 1960.
His March 1947 report on West Germany helped end the Morgenthau Plan, which he claimed would lead to genocide.
His vice president, Charles Curtis, was the first person of color to hold that office.
He met Adolf Hitler on March 8, 1938, defending personal liberty; Hitler replied Germany could not afford such liberties.
He wanted the U.S. to pressure Britain and France to accept Hitler’s peace offers from 1939 to 1941.
He was the last surviving member of the cabinets of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
He is the only U.S. president to outlive his entire cabinet.
Inducted into the National Rivers Hall of Fame in 2020.
On April 7, 1927, he appeared on the first television broadcast, transmitted from Washington, D.C. to New York City.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Herbert Hoover.
Celebrities similar to Herbert Hoover — same craft, ranked by reach.
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