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.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 1899 | Marriage 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. |
| 1928 | Presidential election 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. |