Early life, career and success
Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa. He became the first United States president to be born west of the Mississippi River when he was elected to office. He was the second of three children in a family of Quakers, who followed the values of honesty, industriousness and the simplicity of life. Jesse Clark Hoover his father worked as a blacksmith, and his mother, Hulda Minthorn Hoover was a teacher. After his parents passed away (father in 1880 and mother in 1884) he was orphaned at the age nine. After their deaths and being passed from different relatives finally Hoover was raised primarily by an uncle Dr. John Minthorn, who lived in Oregon. After attending Quaker schools, he became part of the first class to enter Stanford University when it opened in 1891. He graduated four years later with a degree in geology and launched a lucrative career as a mining engineer. …show more content…
He wrote articles and books outlining his conservative political views and warning about the dangers of investing too much power in the federal government. Hoover returned to public service in the 1950s, serving on commissions aimed at increasing government efficiency for presidents Harry Truman (1884-1972) and Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969). By the time Hoover died at age 90 on October 20, 1964, in New York City, assessments of his legacy had grown more favorable. Noting that after Hoover left the White House the Great Depression continued for eight more years despite Roosevelt’s active intervention, some historians have argued for a more sympathetic appraisal of Hoover’s