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Herbert Hoover Timeline
Timeline Description: Herbert Hoover was America's thirty-first president. He was the second president to be elected without ever serving in public office first, and he donated his salary to others. He presided over the country during the Great Depression and one of his greatest achievements was the Hoover Dam.
1874 Herbert Hoover is born
Herbert was born in Iowa. He was the first president born west of the Mississippi River.
1884 Orphaned
Herbert's father died when Herbert was only six years old, and his mother died when he was nine. Herbert and his sister moved in with a different family.
1885 Travelling to Oregon
Herbert left for Oregon to live with his uncle there. He studied hard by going to night school while there, and he learned bookkeeping, typing, and math.
1895 Stanford graduation
Herbert attended Stanford and paid for the tuition himself by working many jobs. He majored in geology and went on to work in engineering.
While at Stanford, Herbert met a woman named Lou Henry. While traveling for his job, he sent her a telegram and asked her to marry him; they married right away.
1900 Mining work (early 1900's)
Herbert spent the next several years working his way up in a mining company, until he made partner. He lived in Australia and China during this time.
1914 World War I
When war broke out, Herbert began traveling the world for his work. While he traveled, he took up relief efforts to help people effected by the war.
1917 U.S. Food Administration
America joined World War I in 1917, and President Wilson appointed Hoover the head of the U.S. Food Administration. It took care of making sure American troops had enough food to eat.
1921 Working in war relief
After the war, Hoover continued helping the people of Europe who struggled after the war. When he returned home, the people loved him and the politicians wanted him to run for office.
Hoover had spent the last few years working with the Chamber of Commerce. When nominated to run for president, he won an easy victory because of his popularity.
1929 The Great Depression
The stock market crashed in 1929, and the world's economy took a turn for the worse. Hoover had to rethink his policies and promises.
1930 Trying to fix the nation
President Hoover tried many ideas to fix the country. He tried sending people who weren't citizens back to their own countries; he also tried raising taxes on imported items so people would buy American-made items.
1930 Hoover Dam
Because he was trying to boost the economy, President Hoover enacted a public works program. Part of this was the building of the Hoover Dam, which gave many men a job when there were few jobs.
1932 Second presidential election
Hoover ran for a second term in the White House. However, the people were angry at him because of his inability to stop the Great Depression, and he lost the election.
1964 President Hoover's death
Hoover retired to California for several years, but he eventually stepped back into public life to help with World War II efforts. He died in 1964 at the age of 90.