1874-1964. 31st president of the USA 1929-33,
a Republican. Secretary of commerce 1921-28.
He lost public confidence after the
stock-market crash of 1929, when he opposed
direct government aid for the unemployed in
the Depression that followed. As a mining
engineer, Hoover travelled widely before
World War I. After the war he organized
relief work in occupied Europe; a talented
administrator, he was subsequently associated
with numerous international relief
organizations, and became food administrator
for the USA 1917-19. He defeated the
Democratic candidate for the presidency, Al
Smith (1873-1944) by a wide margin. The
shantytowns or Hoovervilles of the homeless
that sprang up around large cities were
evidence of his failure to cope with the
effects of the Depression. He was severely
criticized for his adamant opposition to
federal relief for the unemployed, even after
the funds of states, cities, and charities
were exhausted. In 1933, he was succeeded by
F D Roosevelt. Hoover was called upon to
administer the European Food Program 1947,
and in the late 1950s he headed two Hoover
Commissions that recommended reforms in
government structure and operations.