Herbert Hoover was the 31st US president, born in Iowa in 1874. He was a mining engineer and humanitarian who served as Secretary of Commerce before being elected president in 1928. He served only one term before being defeated for re-election in 1932 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt due to the Great Depression. Hoover remained active in politics and died in 1964 at the age of ninety.
Herbert Hoover was the 31st president of the United States, serving at the onset of the Great Depression. A world-renowned mining engineer and advocate for progress, Herbert Hoover was born of Quaker roots and led many humanitarian efforts during and after World War I. Hoover, a Republican, was elected president in 1928 and served only one term before being defeated for re-election in 1932 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Born in Iowa in 1874 as Herbert Clark Hoover, son of Jesse and Hulva Hoover. Hoover grew up in Oregon and lost both of his parents at an early age. At the age of ten, Herbert Hoover was orphaned and went to live with his uncle. Hoover failed to graduate from high school, but later studied at Stanford University where he earned a geology degree. His studies at Stanford led to a career as a mining engineer and he eventually became a partner in a mining company, traveling the world.
Herbert Hoover’s political career began in the early 1900s. He served as Secretary of Commerce in 1921 and ran for president, beating out Calvin Coolidge who was seeking re-election on the Republican ticket. Hoover won the 1928 election against Democrat Alfred Smith.
His tenure began in 1929 when one of his first acts in office was to instruct federal agencies to prosecute gangsters, such as Al Capone, for tax evasion. Herbert Hoover also signed the act that made “The Star Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States. Although Hoover sought re-election in 1932, he was defeated by American voters concerned about economic recovery during the Great Depression, which began the year Hoover took office.
Herbert Hoover remained active in American politics following his failed re-election. He has worked closely with the administrations of both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. His last official act in US service was as a representative at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. Herbert Hoover died in 1964 at the age of ninety and is buried in West Branch, Iowa, where the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located.
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