Herbert Hoover mentored and befriended many young men and women who latter achieved prominence in diverse fields of endeavor. One such relationship was with a young diplomat, Hugh Gibson, serving as secretary of the legation in Brussels, Belgium during the early years of World War I. Gibson was present during the meeting when the United … Continue reading The Making of the Modern Myth
It should come as no surprise that Herbert Hoover and J. Edgar Hoover were frequently confused during their lives and remain so in death. The two men were not related, and they first crossed paths in Washington in the early 1920s. While the Clint Eastwood film has a scene depicting Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone … Continue reading A Tale of Two Hoovers
This is the headline of a story in the November 9, 1932 issue of the New York Times. Hoover was on a train traveling to Palo Alto where he was going to vote in the 1932 election when officials said they believed an attempt was made to wreck Hoover's special train. The article read as follows: … Continue reading Supposed Plot Against Hoover Train is Foiled
One of the many improvements to the White House was undertaken by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1927, Coolidge replaced 100-year-old pine beams with an expanded third floor using a steel frame. Of the most under-appreciated endeavors of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover are her efforts to preserve and document the rich history of the White … Continue reading Recollections Of A Piece of Wood 1930
On March 18, 1928, an urgent telegram was received by Lou Henry Hoover from Lady Lister-Kay, wife of Sir John Lister-Kay groom-in-waiting to King Edward VII. Lady Lister-Kay queried: "I was horrified to read in the papers this morning of the very narrow escape you had in your automobile yesterday which most happily and mercifully ended … Continue reading Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill
Like many of their generation, Herbert and Lou Hoover were fascinated by motion pictures. They lived at a time when film evolved from its infancy into a mature industry. Silent pictures were often enhanced by a piano, theatre organ accompaniment or even orchestral scores for some of the epic films. Movie houses in larger cities … Continue reading Movie Night at the White House
A story that Herbert Hoover liked to tell concerned one of the more unusual tributes given by a grateful people in honor of Hoover’s humanitarian service. He describes it in An American Epic: “I received many marks of appreciation from the Poles—a square named for me in Warsaw, streets in Cracow and other towns, a … Continue reading Herbert Hoover Looses his Head
The first volume of Herbert Hoover’s memoirs is probably the most revealing. It contains many entertaining asides that demonstrate his dry wit and self-deprecating humor. The volume also discusses his family in ways that is absent in later volumes. Owing to Hoover’s profession as a mining engineer, he was constantly traveling the globe to attend to … Continue reading The War through the Eyes of a Child
Jazz aficionados associate the Savoy with the ballroom in Harlem made famous by Benny Goodman’s rendition of the Edgar Sampson tune. For Herbert and Lou Hoover, the Savoy Hotel was the favorite meeting place for most Americans in London in 1914. When World War I began, the Hoovers noticed long lines outside of the American Embassy. They quickly learned … Continue reading Stompin’ at the Savoy
Hello! Thanks for visiting the Hoover Library-Museum's new blog. We are excited to start sharing some favorite (and obscure) Hoover stories, as well as news and events from the Library-Museum itself. Like all the best meetings, we thought we would kick things off with doughnuts, so settle in with some good coffee and get ready to learn … Continue reading Doughnuts and Doughboys!
