Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. His father was blacksmith Jesse Clark Hoover and his mother was Hulda Randall Minthorn Hoover. He was a graduate of Stanford University and served as our nation’s 31^st President from March 4, 1929 to March 3, 1933.

     Mr. Hoover was an engineer. He served as our Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Harding and Coolidge. Although born in Iowa, he grew up in Oregon. He also spent some time working in China. During and after World War I, Mr. Hoover organized relief efforts to feed many millions of starving people in Europe and the Soviet Union. He was a great humanitarian. As an engineer and a dedicated conservationist, Mr. Hoover oversaw the construction of Boulder Dam (later named “Hoover Dam” in his honor). Unfortunately for President Hoover, the stock market crashed in 1929 – only a few months after he had taken office. He tried many things to stop the country’s economic spiral downward into Depression, but there were those in Congress who stood in his way for their own reasons. They unfairly made it seem as though President Hoover didn’t care that his people went hungry.

     Mr. Hoover married Lou Henry in 1899. They had two sons: Herbert Clark Hoover, Jr. and Allan Henry Hoover.

     President Herbert Hoover died on October 20, 1964 in New York, New York. He was 90 and writing a book at the time.