Herbert Hoover's 150th Birthday: 5 facts about Iowa's only US president

President Herbert Hoover remains the only U.S. president to have been born in Iowa. On Aug. 10, his hometown will celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth with Hoover's Hometown Days.

Born in 1874 in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover is best known for leading the country during the early years of the Great Depression. However, before his presidency and after, Hoover was a trailblazer in engineering and humanitarian efforts.

Here are five facts about President Hoover's life:

Herbert Hoover was a member of the pioneer class at Stanford University

Hoover spent the first 11 years of his life in Iowa before heading west to live with his uncle John Minthorn in Newberg, Oregon, 45 minutes outside of Portland, after he was orphaned. Hoover dropped out of school at 13 to work with his uncle but attended night school, where he learned bookkeeping, typing and mathematics.

Though he did not attend high school, Hoover sought higher education at Stanford University in 1891 and studied geology. During his time at Stanford, Hoover founded the first student housing cooperative on campus, was the student manager for both the baseball and football teams and helped organize the inaugural big game against the University of California, Berkeley.

Hoover was very involved in student life and won election to student treasurer.

He is the only U.S. president to have attended Stanford University.

Hoover was one of the wealthiest US presidents

After graduating from Stanford University in 1895, Hoover began working as an international mining engineer and a financer. He amassed his wealth through mining.

Hoover worked for Bewick, Moreing & Co., a London-based company, where he garnered his expertise in mining and innovative approaches to operations, increasing the efficiency and profitability of the mines he managed.

In 1908, he established a mining consulting business, where he invested in and managed mining operations worldwide, solidifying his status as an expert.

Today, President Hoover is ranked as the ninth wealthiest U.S. president, with a net worth of $100 million in current dollars.

Herbert Hoover led humanitarian efforts in WWI

At the start of World War I, Hoover pivoted to dedicate himself to humanitarian work while living in London, which was his entry into public life. At the start of the war, Hoover helped 120,000 stranded Americans return home from Europe.

Hoover then went on to lead the Commission for Relief in Belgium and provided food and aid for nearly 10 million people whose country had been overrun by the German army.

Following Hoover's personally funded humanitarian efforts, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to lead the U.S. Food Administration through the rest of the war. Hoover successfully led campaigns that encouraged Americans to reduce their consumption of meat and other commodities, including "Meatless Tuesdays," which is more commonly known as "Meatless Mondays," or "Meat Free Mondays," to help combat climate change.

His success in the Wilson administration led him to be appointed as secretary of commerce under presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge before he was elected the 31st president of the United States.

Hoover-Ball was created specifically for him

During his presidency, White House physician Joel T. Boone invented the game Hoover Ball to help keep President Hoover fit, although New York Times Magazine writer William Atherton DuPuy named it.

Hoover-Ball was played with two to four players per team, using a 6-pound medicine ball over an 8-foot net on a court like a tennis court. Scoring and playing mirrored tennis: the server throws the ball, and the opponent catches it on the fly and returns it. Points are lost by missing the ball or hitting it out of bounds.

In his memoirs, Hoover wrote about the activity: "It required less skill than tennis, was faster and more vigorous, and therefore gave more exercise in a short time."

Herbert Hoover was a part of both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations

While Hoover was a Republican, he continued to serve the country under the Truman administration after his presidential term. President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, appointed Hoover to lead the Hoover Commission, which aimed to reorganize the executive branch to increase efficiency.

The findings and reports from the Hoover Commission significantly influenced the Reorganization Act of 1949, leading to reforms that increased efficiency, reduced redundancy and enhanced coordination between federal agencies.

Congress created a second Hoover Commission, also led by the former president, during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first term. The second commission sent its final report to Congress in 1955.

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Herbert Hoover would be 150 in 2024, 5 facts about the president