The orphan from West Branch who became a global humanitarian, a mining engineer, and the 31st President of the United States.
Herbert Clark Hoover was born in 1874 in a two-room cottage in West Branch, Iowa, into a Quaker family, and was orphaned as a boy. He trained as a mining engineer at Stanford and built a fortune in international mining.
During and after World War I he led massive food-relief efforts that saved millions in Europe, served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and was elected the 31st President of the United States in 1928 — taking office just before the Great Depression.
Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River, and his birthplace, presidential library, and gravesite draw visitors to West Branch as a National Historic Site. His post-presidency humanitarian and government-reform work rehabilitated his reputation.
He remains Iowa's only U.S. president.
The orphan from West Branch who became a global humanitarian, a mining engineer, and the 31st President of the United States.
Herbert Hoover was from West Branch, Iowa.
1874–1964.
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