The life of Herbert Clark Hoover is unmistakably tied to the growth of the United States of America in the early
1900s. Hoover was born in Iowa in 1874 before radios, telephones, televisions, cars, airplanes, and indoor plumbing!
Hoover’s father was a blacksmith and his mother was a Quaker minister. By the time he was 10, both his parents
had died, so he moved to Oregon to live on his uncle’s farm where he loved nothing better than the outdoors and
fishing. His Quaker upbringing and outdoor experiences would figure prominently in his later life and philosophy.
1895
In 1895 Herbert Hoover graduated from Stanford University’s very first class with a degree in Mining Engineering and Geology.
1899
On February 10, 1899 Hoover married his Stanford sweetheart and fellow geologist, Lou Henry and the next day they set sail for
China where he had a job as a mining consultant to the Chinese government.
1900
1900 had the Hoovers in China under siege during the Boxer Rebellion. While Herbert directed the building of barricades and
rationing of food, Lou helped in the hospital caring for the sick. Herbert even risked his life once rescuing Chinese children.
1903
Herbert and Lou Hoover’s two sons, Herbert, Jr. (1903), and Allen (1907) were both born in London. Lou allowed herself 5 weeks
to recover from childbirth before she and their sons rejoined her husband for his world travels.
1907
The Hoover's second son, Allen was born in 1907.
1908
During the next few years, Hoover established his international reputation as the "Doctor of Sick Mines" and became a
multi-millionaire! About this time the Hoovers became less interested in mining and began to devote their time and
money to public service.
1914
Europe entered World War I in 1914. Numerous European civilians were affected by the war as battles were fought in towns
and cities and many places were destroyed leaving the citizens without shelter and food.
1917
In the spring of 1917, when the United States entered World War I, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to head
the United States Food Administration. The job of the Food Administration was to coordinate the production and conservation of
food supplies to feed this country and our soldiers and allies overseas. By the end of WWI Hoover was regarded as a hero all
over the world.
1921
Early in 1921 (during the Harding administration), Hoover was appointed the Secretary of Commerce.
He held that post during both the Harding and Coolidge administrations.
While on the Cabinet, Hoover suggested that insuring bank deposits was in the individual’s best
interest. He believed it strongly enough to follow his own advice.
1925
In 1925, while Secretary of Commerce, Hoover warned against unguarded speculation in the stock market.
He also was a champion of the standardization of manufactured goods to save time and money, and encouraged
modernization and technological advances. Standard sizes were adopted for paper, auto tires, nuts and bolts,
plumbing, window frames, and many more items. Think of the difference this made!
1927
In the spring of 1927, the Mississippi River flooded over 20,000 square miles, killing several hundred people
and leaving over 600,000 homeless. Hoover coordinated the relief efforts of 8 government agencies,
the Red Cross, and 91 local communities.
1928
Riding the popularity he had gained with his relief work and as Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Clark Hoover
became the 31st President of the United States in November 1928.
1929
Hoover knew he would need an outdoors place to relax and refresh so before his inauguration in March, 1929,
the Hoovers purchased, with their own money, 164 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Madison County, Virginia.
This land would become Rapidan Camp, President and Mrs. Hoover’s retreat on the Rapidan River. With the basic
construction of Rapidan Camp completed, in early October, 1929, British Prime Minister Ramsey McDonald was a
guest at Rapidan Camp to discuss world naval disarmament.
1930
In another example of the Hoovers’ Quaker belief in public service and philanthropy, the Hoovers financed a school
near Rapidan Camp to help educate their mountain neighbors.President Hoover instituted a huge public works program
in which $635 million was authorized for construction projects. By the spring of 1930, the economy had begun to recover.
But that summer, there was a severe drought and millions of farmers lost their crops during the "Dust Bowl."
1931
As his presidency continued, the Great Depression was affecting everyone in the country and Hoover was trying hard to
improve the economy. Rapidan Camp became very much a "working" camp, where the President would come to conduct business
away from the city and the prying eyes of the media. His Cabinet was even provided with their own lodging in the
"Cabinet Camp" at Rapidan.
1931
The Great Depression
1932
Everything that Hoover was able to accomplish was not enough to reverse the effects of the Depression.
The American people were unhappy and in November, 1932, President Herbert Hoover lost his bid for re-election
to Franklin Roosevelt.
1934
After his one term as President of the United States, Hoover spent his time writing books, making speeches,
and continuing to live his philosophy of public service. He served as chairman of many charitable organizations,
including Boys’ Clubs of America and the Boy Scouts of America. During WWII, he established the Commission for
Polish Relief, the Finnish Relief Fund, and the National Committee on Food for Small Democracies.
1944
Lou Henry Hoover died in 1944 after years of public service, especially to the Girl Scouts of America and the
Women’s Division of the National Amateur Athletic Association.
1947
Herbert Hoover began to oversee the restructuring of the Executive Branch of the federal government by serving as the
chairman of the first Hoover Commission under President Truman and the second Hoover Commission under President Eisenhower.
1958
Hoover's last official act for the government of the United States was to serve as the U.S.
representative to the World’s Fair in Belgium in 1958.
1964
Herbert Clark Hoover died at age ninety in 1964 and was buried in Iowa near the place where he was born.
