Mining medal for Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover, showing the inscription of the medal inside its case.

Much Ado About Medals Act I: Lou and The Engineer

Mining medal for Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover, showing the inscription of the medal inside its case. Here in the Curatorial Department of the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, we help promote and protect the former President’s legacy by safekeeping his physical artifacts. This includes approximately four hundred coins and medals that Herbert Hoover accumulated … Continue reading Much Ado About Medals Act I: Lou and The Engineer

Hoover and the Charge of Treason

Popular history reaches a wide audience and often inspires readers to delve more deeply into a topic. All history contains some misinformation. In most cases, it is based on sources that have since been replaced with writings that benefit from new primary materials that better inform the topic. Bill Bryson’s widely read One Summer: America … Continue reading Hoover and the Charge of Treason

An Explosive Story: Hoover and the Sinai Peninsula Turquoise Mine

By Thomas F. Schwartz W. J. Loring and Herbert Hoover, mining in Australia, Hoover on the left. ca. 1903 November As part of an ongoing exploration of Herbert and Lou Hoover’s connection with the Rosetta Stone exhibit, this blog post examines Herbert Hoover’s brief efforts to revive a turquoise mine in the Sinai Peninsula.  The … Continue reading An Explosive Story: Hoover and the Sinai Peninsula Turquoise Mine

Presidents and Engineers

Herbert Hoover mining in possibly Australia or South Africa, ca. 1900. America celebrates National Engineering Week each February in the week containing February 22nd, George Washington’s birthday.  Washington, who used engineering skills while surveying land on the frontier, is an apt President on which to hang this celebration of engineering.  Other Presidents who’d merit consideration … Continue reading Presidents and Engineers

Hoover and His Camel

By Thomas F. Schwartz One of Hoover’s fondest memories of being a student at Stanford University were the two summers he spent working with the United States Geological Survey in the Nevada High Sierra.  Most of the work required riding on horseback to navigate the rugged trails.  Hoover recalled: “In these long mountain rides over … Continue reading Hoover and His Camel

Lou Henry Hoover and the Translation of De Re Metallica

A recent Hoover blog described Herbert Hoover’s speech upon accepting the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America’s Gold Medal for his contribution in translating and republishing Agricola’s De Re Metallica.  Herbert Hoover traced the history of the mining profession, beginning with Vulcan, continuing through Thucydides and Jeremiah, before closing with the observation that German mining … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover and the Translation of De Re Metallica

The Discovery of a Professional Tradition:  Herbert and Lou Hoover’s Translation of De Re Metallica

By Thomas F. Schwartz Often projects that seem simple at first, become more complicated and involved once begun.  Unanticipated problems emerge as greater comprehension of what is required only emerges by working through the project.  And so it was when the Hoovers decided to undertake an English translation of Georgius Agricola’s De Re Metallica, a … Continue reading The Discovery of a Professional Tradition:  Herbert and Lou Hoover’s Translation of De Re Metallica

Herbert Hoover and the Tommyknockers: Mythic Gnomes of the Mine Shafts

By Thomas F. Schwartz If there is any public recognition of the word “Tommyknocker” it is probably a reference to the 1987 Stephen King novel The Tommyknockers or spin off ABC miniseries with Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger.  The Stephen King novel’s use of “Tommyknocker” has nothing to do with the ancient mythic gnome that … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and the Tommyknockers: Mythic Gnomes of the Mine Shafts

De Re Metallica, Translated

Before entering public service, Herbert Hoover was a successful and wealthy mining engineer. In fact, he and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, both majored in geology at Stanford University. In 1905, Lou attempted to find an adequate English translation of the medieval mining treatise De Re Metallica by Georgius Agricola. Because classical Latin is not … Continue reading De Re Metallica, Translated