Profile
Herbert Hoover: Engineer, Humanitarian and President
31st President of the United States, born on 10 August 1874
Herbert Hoover was born on 10 August 1874 in West Branch, Iowa, and was orphaned as a child. He was among the first students at Stanford University, where he studied geology.
As a mining engineer he worked around the world and became wealthy. During the First World War he led the Commission for Relief in Belgium, feeding millions of people, and later served as Secretary of Commerce.
Elected president in 1928, he faced the Great Depression after the stock market crash of 1929. He lost the 1932 election to Franklin D. Roosevelt but later chaired commissions on government reform and famine relief.
Career highlights
- 1874Born in West Branch, Iowa
- 1895Graduates from Stanford: in its first class
- 1914Commission for Relief in Belgium: feeds millions during the war
- 1921Secretary of Commerce: under Harding and Coolidge
- 1928Elected president: in a landslide
- 1929Wall Street Crash: the Great Depression begins
- 1932Loses to Roosevelt
- 1946Famine relief: coordinates post-war food aid
- 1964Dies in New York: aged 90
Did you know?The Hoover Dam on the Colorado River is named after him, recognising his role in the agreement that made it possible.
