Herbert Hoover

Born in Iowa on 10 August 1874, Hebert Hoover was orphaned as a child and was raised by his uncle who lived in Oregon. A hard working and smart child, Herbert attended Stanford University where he obtained a degree in geology which saw him working for mining companies in different parts of the world like China and Australia after graduating. Herbert Hoover was living in England when the First World War broke out in Europe and he helped 120,000 Americans evacuate Europe to the US for their and his safety. His organisation was feeding 10.5 million people a day at one point so it was no wonder that The President of the United States noticed his work.

Herbert was appointed to the Cabinet position of Secretary of Commerce when Warren Harding was elected in 1920. Harding was sworn into office in 1921 and while there were so many scandals during his presidency that somehow, Herbert Hoover was not involved in them and was allowed to stay after Harding died in office in 1923. Calvin Coolidge took over from the now dead Warren Harding and, get this, when Herbert was Secretary of Commence, he organised various public works throughout the United States with one of them being a dam on the Colorado River that was initially called the Boulder Dam but we now called the Hoover Dam, after Herbert! Another thing to note is that this part of Herbert’s life saw him be graced with the reputation of being an intelligent, honest and hard working man who was asked to run for president as the Republican candidate in the 1928 elections and he won 40 out of the 48 states that the US had at the time.

However, Herbert Hoover’s presidency is marked by one very significant event. The Great Depression which was kicked off on Black Thursday by the stock market crashing in 1929 and it saw people not only losing their many and jobs but also businesses closing down! It was the worst economic crisis in US history. Herbert did try his best to better the situation by cutting taxes and increasing public work spending but much like a moose trying to avoid traumatising a hedgehog after stepping on a baby chicken only to step on another one, the situation only got worse and the recession wasn’t even Herbert’s fault! He also tried and failed to help the poor and unemployed but he was still blamed for the public downturn so homeless camps became known by the biased nickname of Hoovervilles. As a result, the 1932 elections saw Franklin D Roosevelt defeating Herbert Hoover. During World War 2, Herbert returned to working with the big cheeses by helping out with food aid. He also helped out Presidents Truman and Eisenhower on commissions to find ways to cut costs in government.

He lived a long life and with his wife Lou Henry (who he married in 1899 but was predeceased by her in 1944) he had two sons. Herbert Hoover died on 20 October 1964 and he is buried at the Herbert Hoover President Library and Museum. Coincidently, the very same day that Herbert Hoover died was also the birth of Vice President Kamala Harris! That means if Harris wins the US Presidential elections in November (since this was written before the final result of the 2024 elections arrived), she will become not only the first Female US President and the first black and Indian President of the US but also the first President to be born the same day another president died!