Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer before embarking on a political career. He and his wife Lou Henry, a geology classmate at Stanford University, lived around the world for his very lucrative career.

From 1914–20, Hoover successfully headed relief efforts for Americans stranded in Europe by World War I, distributing food, clothing, and supplies, followed by a massive relief program for starving Belgians and for refugees in central Europe. He also supervised the U.S. government’s efforts to conserve food on the home front. His acclaim won him appointment as secretary of commerce in the Harding and Coolidge administrations. In 1928, he was chosen as the Republican presidential nominee. The economy had been robust throughout the 1920s and he won the election in a landslide.

Within months, the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression. Hoover failed at first to grasp the severity of the Depression. He believed that volunteerism and self-reliance would heal the economy, but the troubles deepened; by 1933, 37 percent of non-farm workers were jobless. Hoover ran for re-election in 1932 but was badly defeated by Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt.

After leaving the White House, Hoover enjoyed a long and productive life. He served as a relief organizer during World War II, and during the Truman administration, he chaired a commission to offer recommendations for streamlining the executive departments. He died in October 1964 at the age of 90.