Herbert Hoover
Born: August 4, 1874
Died: October 20, 1964
Term in Office: 1929-1933
Okay, we've all heard of Hoover Dam and, of course, Hoovervilles, the homeless encampments of the Great Depression –– so named in honor of the poor guy who happened to be in the Oval Office when the markets crashed and who, try as he might, couldn't put an economic plan together that would bring the country out of the skids.
But let's devote a few lines to earlier in this man's life, before he became the 31st President. He was born into a Quaker household in Iowa and was orphaned by the time he was 9.
He was sent to live with relatives in Oregon and dropped out of school at the age of 13 to work in his uncle's real estate company. Enterprising fellow that he was, he pursued studies at night school, succeeding enough to be accepted in 1891 into the brand new university on Leland Stanford's "ranch" near Palo Alto, California. He roomed at the construction barracks, supposedly. He was a member of the first graduating class from that institution and took with him a degree as a mining engineer.
His job in that capacity took him to China, where he happened to be when the Boxer Rebellion broke out. He helped the besieged settlement in which he lived with the building of barricades, while his wife worked in the local hospital. He is credited with saving the lives of children at that time.
Subsequently, he was in London when England entered the first World War. He helped organize a program that fed millions who were starving in war-torn Europe, primarily Belgium. It was for that program and his efforts to help get stranded American tourists home that he was installed as head of the American Relief Administration after the war, helping feed the ravaged survivors, Russians included, saying, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they will be fed."
He became known as "the Great Humanitarian," not a great economist. Some say his economic belief in the "trickle down" philosophy originated with him. The Depression didn't respond well to that belief.
In the fifties he established the Hoover Institution, a now-renowned think tank at Stanford.
Enough of that. Sheesh, I'm a little past halfway in my quest to capture each president on their birthday, and I gotta say, I'm losing enthusiasm for the task, and I think it's starting to show in the illustrations... and in these write-ups. But carry on I shall. Just waiting for that second wind.
Peace to all, and take time to breathe deeply.
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