1874-1964

He risked his life for others during an anti-foreigner uprising in China; he arranged the evacuation of over 100,000 stranded Americans from Europe at the outbreak of World War I; he organized food aid for the starving of Europe when the war was over.

In 1927 - pre-FEMA days - when the Mississippi flooded in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, he quickly raised 15 million dollars for supplies for the victims and established tent cities for 600,000 homeless people.

And yet when the Great Depression struck the US, Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, was unable to alleviate the poverty of millions of his fellow citizens. He was attacked by his political opponents as cold and heartless, although he considered they were undermining his policies for their own gain.

Hoover’s Swiss roots lay five generations back. The origins of the Huber family have been traced back to the 12th century, when at least one member held office in Bern. Later the family had land in Oberkulm, in what is now Canton Aargau. But by the 17th century they were religious dissenters, and moved to the Palatinate in southern Germany to escape persecution. Three siblings moved separately to America in 1728, 1732 and 1738.

Hoover himself was the son of a Quaker blacksmith, and qualified as a mining engineer at Stanford. But his talent lay also in administration, and he worked on several government committees before becoming Commerce Secretary under Presidents Harding and Coolidge.

In 1928 Hoover won the Presidency as a Republican. But only months after he took office came the Wall Street crash and the depression. Hoover became the scapegoat for the ensuing suffering, and was heavily defeated in 1932.