by Matthew Schaefer In the course of writing serial posts on Herbert Hoover’s activities during World War I, it occurred to this Hoover archivist that he was giving short shrift to other actors with agency in the drama. To correct this oversight, today’s blog will respond to Abigail Adams’ challenge to not forget the ladies. … Continue reading War Conditions in Belgium and England
By Thomas F. Schwartz Born in Iowa, both Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover considered themselves Californians for most of their lives. Not only was their home designed by Lou built in Palo Alto near the campus of Stanford University, Herbert Hoover also operated several farms throughout the state. Initially, Hoover was in partnership with several … Continue reading The “Lady from California”: Hoover Hoover’s Work at Children’s Hospital
By Thomas F. Schwartz, Director A genre of writing concerns the memoirs of domestic White House staff. Personal secretaries, head butlers, maids, and secret service who live round the clock with the President, First Lady, and First Family see and hear things that are typically not reported at the time but become known through “tell … Continue reading White House Staff Remember Lou
By Thomas F. Schwartz The first volume of Herbert Hoover’s Memoirs appeared in 1951. Only ten pages comprise his time in Iowa. Theodore Hoover, Herbert’s older brother, wrote a 1939 autobiography, Memoranda: Being a Statement by an Engineer, that was never published. It exists in typescript at the Hoover Institution with a copy at the … Continue reading Theodore and Herbert Hoover’s Childhood Recollections: A Comparative Study
By Thomas F. Schwartz Hoover’s selection of Harry F. Guggenheim as Ambassador to Cuba came after Guggenheim rejected an earlier offer to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for aeronautics. Hoover learned Guggenheim was interested in being Ambassador to Mexico. Dwight Morrow already was capably serving in that post so Hoover nominated Guggenheim to serve … Continue reading Ambassador Harry F. Guggenheim
By Thomas F. Schwartz World War I provided much of the impetus for the development of aviation as a weapon of war. In the aftermath of the war, aviation continued to be developed by governments largely for military purposes. In the United States, it became the reserve for daredevils and interested amateurs. Planes were noisy, … Continue reading The New Frontier of Aviation: the Guggenheim/Hoover Connection
By Thomas F. Schwartz One of the great architectural icons of the twentieth century is Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Unlike most art museums with a series of square rooms displaying paintings, sculpture and other media, the Guggenheim is a spiral walkway with the art displayed on the walls along … Continue reading Hoover and Harry F. Guggenheim on the Opening of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
by Spencer Howard During the Hoover Administration, arguably the most famous pet in Washington belonged not to the Hoovers, but to Secretary of State Henry Stimson, who was the proud owner of a profane parrot named The Old Soak. Tales of The Old Soak include a long-distance relationship, scandalous behavior, and a horrifying disease, all … Continue reading The Old Soak
by Spencer Howard The fall of 1929 is typically remembered for the October stock market crash, but did you know that 1929 also witnessed a pandemic scare, one that ended almost as soon as it started? It wasn’t Covid-19 or even the Spanish Flu; it was Parrot Fever. Known to science as Psittacosis, parrot fever … Continue reading Parrot Fever — the 1929 pandemic
by Spencer Howard Visitors to the gravesite of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover are often struck by its dignified simplicity. Two ledger stones of Vermont white marble mark their resting place, inscribed only with their names and life dates. No epitaph records their achievements or honors. Located at the top of a small rise known … Continue reading Army and Navy Union USA at the Hoover Gravesite
