Lou Hoover is not well-known by many Americans, but her life and travels astonish everyone who learns more about her. She was an accomplished and successful woman outside of her husband, but she often gets overshadowed by the next First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. It’s time for Lou to step into the spotlight!
Each month, I’ll detail the life of the first lady and their legacy. Then I’ll share what I learned while studying them, along with ways you can travel in their footsteps through historical sites and museums. I’ll also share books, podcasts, TV shows, and websites where you can learn even more about that first lady. Read all of the way through the blog post or click on the links below to go straight to those sections.
Life
Childhood
Lou Henry was born on March 29, 1879 in Waterloo, Iowa to Charles and Florence Henry. When Lou was just a few months old, the family moved to Corsicana, Texas where the drier climate was thought to help Florence’s health. They returned to Waterloo in 1881 and Lou’s little sister, Jean, was born there. Ever restless, the young family moved to Whittier, California in 1887 where Lou was raised to love riding horses, camping, and hunting. She worked with her banker father at a local gold mine and became very interested in geology.
After high school, Lou enrolled at Los Angeles Normal School (which eventually became UCLA) and got excellent grades, becoming top of her class. She loved the sciences and botany and only struggled with music. During her second year, her parents moved to Monterey hours away, leaving her all alone in Los Angeles. She didn’t like it and transferred to San Jose Normal School close to their new home.
Her interest in geology led her to enroll in the new Stanford College in 1884. She excelled in her geology courses and loved how the guys treated her just like one of them even though she was the only girl in their classes. She also joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma women’s fraternity and loved attending dances and theater performances. Lou was the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from Stanford when she graduated in June of 1898.
Courtship and Marriage
Lou caught the eye of a fellow geology student, Herbert “Bert” Hoover who was a Quaker from Iowa who had been orphaned at a young age. He had gotten a job with a London-based mining company that sent him to Australia and China after graduation. He asked Lou to go with him via telegram, and she said yes.
Lou and Bert married at her parents’ Monterey home on February 10, 1899 where they both wore brown traveling suits. The next day, they set sail for Shanghai, arriving almost a month later on March 8. After settling in Tianjin, Lou toured the city and lived in a missionary home while Bert traveled for work. She was bored and lonely, doing anything to occupy her time including studying Chinese (she ended up eventually speaking seven languages!).
She was unhappy when Bert finally came back and insisted on accompanying him on his trips even when it took her to dangerous places. She was with fellow expats during the Boxer Rebellion, nursing wounded soldiers and defending their community with her own pistol!
Lou traveled between London, California, Japan, and Australia until the family finally settled down in London in 1901. The Hoovers leased a home near Kensington Palace and made it their home base as they still traveled to several countries a year even after having their two children, Herbert Clark Junior on August 4, 1903 and Allan Henry on July 19, 1907. In fact, little Herbert was only five weeks old when Lou and Bert took him on a trip to Australia! By the time he was one, he had circumnavigated the globe twice!
When they were in London, Lou always ensured they had an eclectic mix of guests at their table from engineers to writers. Bert worked extremely hard (while becoming very wealthy!) and was often absent from his family; however he and Lou worked together on a mining paper that brought them closer and won awards. Lou was the first woman to publish in a seismological society professional journal.
Lou also kept busy in charitable circles, becoming the president of the Society of American Women in London. Her work increased with the commencement of World War I as her group helped comfort refugees and found space on steamers for those wishing to flee. Bert worked with the American government on food relief for the besieged Belgians and was consumed with work. Lou took the boys back to America but came to London when Bert asked her to come back. Lou worked tirelessly for Bert’s Belgium relief while also helping unemployed women find jobs. She traveled back and forth to America to see the boys, eventually bringing them to England again before going home for good when America entered the war in 1917.
Stateside
Bert moved to Washington, DC to serve as the Administrator of Food in the Wilson administration, and while Lou enrolled the children at a DC school, she remained in California. They led parallel lives that rarely intersected.
Lou became involved in the Girl Scouts, serving as its vice president.
She also helped “Hooverize” American’s diets to avoid food shortages. In August of 1918, the US government asked Lou to organize a temporary program that would arrange for volunteers to accompany wounded soldiers to their hometowns. Lou succeeded with her diplomacy and ability to motivate people.
When Bert was promoted to serve as the US representative to secure European food relief at the end of the war, Lou went to California, corresponding with Bert only via telegram or through friends.
Folks started putting Bert’s name out as a potential presidential candidate, and while he didn’t get the 1920 nomination, he decided to begin laying the groundwork for an eventual campaign. He was named the Secretary of Commerce in the Harding administration, and Lou was one of the most prominent Cabinet wives. She appeared in Vogue magazine, causing a rivalry between her and First Lady Florence Harding.
Lou also moved back to Palo Alto where she designed her dream home.
She saw her boys to college and dealt with grief as her mother died. She drove cross country with her father and two other companions at a time where there was no interstate, changing tires herself and camping out under the stars.
She accompanied Bert when he traveled with the Hardings on their long western trip where President Harding eventually died. Lou helped console Mrs. Harding and became close with Grace Coolidge, now the First Lady.
On April 34, 1924, Lou became only the second woman on the cover of TIME magazine for chairing a conference of the Women’s National Committee for Law Enforcement. Also serving as the president of Girl Scouts, she was one of the most prominent women in America! She also became a grandmother as Herbert Jr. had married in 1925 and had his first child in 1926.
1928 Presidential Campaign
Bert became better known in political circles as he organized disaster relief for many states in 1927. Lou supported his well-known desire for the presidency by hosting parties in Washington and California, running both households flawlessly. Bert won the nomination on the first ballot, but the press hounded them over their religion and finances. Lou hated the intrusion of the press and refused to give interviews. Her father died in the middle of the campaign, giving her a good excuse to stay behind the scenes.
Lou traveled with Bert on train stops throughout the United States and was by his side when he won handily in November of 1928. After the election, Lou and Bert traveled to Central and South America on a ten-week, ten-country tour before landing in Miami at the new year. The Hoovers would soon be headed to the White House.
White House Years
Lou wore a plum-colored velvet coat and matching cloche hat to Bert’s inauguration on a cold, rainy March day. His inauguration was the first to be recorded on a newsreel, and his administration would be the first to be captured by home movies. Click here to see the National Archives videos from the Hoover White House!
After the ceremony, the Hoovers hosted a buffet luncheon at the White House and watched the inaugural parade. They did not attend the inaugural ball at the Mayflower.
Lou was not known as a fashion trendsetter but dressed nicely and had excellent taste. She was the first First Lady to be photographed for Vogue magazine, appearing in its May 11, 1929 issue.
Lou had firm views on entertaining, surprising the White House social secretary who was used to Grace Coolidge’s more complaint ways. When the secretary resigned after a year, Lou never replaced her.
She redecorated the White House to suit Bert’s comfort with lots of bookshelves to hold his library. She became very interested in the history of the mansion and even contacted President Monroe’s descendants to acquire or copy several pieces from their White House purchases. She also commissioned a copy of Elizabeth Monroe’s portrait that hangs in the White House today. She had an archivist write about the furnishings and had former first ladies contribute (Jackie Kennedy used this list for her White House decor project).
She also recognized the need to have a presidential retreat so looked for land within a days’ drive that was at a high elevation and had a fishing stream. The Hoovers purchased a plot of land in the Shenandoah mountains of Virginia where they built a set of cabins they called Rapidan Camp. They also established a neighborhood school and paid for the teacher’s wages until the land was swallowed up by the Shenandoah National Park five years later.
Lou created a stir when she invited the wife of the first black elected to Congress since Reconstruction to the White House. Southern states were dismayed (the Texas legislature even censured her!), but Lou did what she thought was right, never flinching.
“Women have come to stay in politics. There is no way of keeping out and there is no such thing as a neutral or passive voice. If you are not active, you are helping the other side.”
-Lou Hoover
The Hoovers’ first year in the White House was going well with a booming economy until late October, 1929 when the stock market crashed. The White House also caught on fire that December, leaving the West Wing damaged. The Hoovers couldn’t catch a break as unemployment kept creeping up and Bert had trouble getting any relief through Congress.
Lou was also in physical pain in 1930 after a fall on a waxed floor. She had to use a wheelchair for six weeks but still directed the White House staff and handled Girl Scout matters from the second floor. She didn’t make herself available to journalists so her coverage began to turn negative, especially as the economy continued to tank with a drought that would become known as the Dust Bowl.
Lou finally spoke out, addressing the nation by radio on March 23, 1931 where she praised the Girl Scouts in helping communities facing the impact of the depression. She personally donated hand knit sweaters to the Red Cross for needy families, organized benefit concerts, and had cotton gowns made to support cotton farmers. The public didn’t know that the Hoovers were funding many relief efforts with their own money. All to no avail as Bert took the blame for the Great Depression with the homeless encampments even being called “Hoovervilles.”
The Hoovers entered 1932 with the knowledge that they would likely lose the election, hosting what would become the final New Year’s Day reception in White House history. The year turned from bad to worse as WWI veterans protested in Washington, leading the authorities to use force. No matter what Bert did, he couldn’t stem the bad news.
He lost the election of 1932 in a landslide, and Lou was happy to leave Wasington for California. She gave incoming first lady Eleanor Roosevelt a tour but they didn’t become close like she was with Grace Coolidge. She was devastated when Grace’s husband, the former president, died in early 1933, and both she and Bert attended his funeral.
Post-White House
Lou and Bert were depressed and morose after leaving the White House. Bert took an apartment in New York City while Lou moved to her beloved Palo Alto home. She loved opening her home to Stanford’s women students and enjoyed her time back in California. However, with the unflattering books coming out on the Hoovers and the Roosevelt administration upending the Hoovers’ legacy, she became angry and incensed at how she and Bert were being treated by the press.
Lou continued her charitable works with the Girl Scouts, music societies, and the Salvation Army. She also organized a clothing drive in all western states when World War II began, but she soon started experiencing health issues. She left Palo Alto for good in the late fall of 1943, moving to Bert’s New York apartment where she died of a heart attack on January 7, 1944. Her funeral was held at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, and she was buried on Stanford’s campus.
Previously, Lou had purchased Bert’s birthplace, which was turned into the site of the Hoover Presidential Library. When Bert died twenty years after Lou’s death, she was reinterred with him in West Branch at the library. The Girl Scouts continued to honor Lou for sixty years with the Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Forest program, acknowledging her impact on the organization and the country.
Legacy
Lou was a trailblazer in many ways from her extensive world travels to her heavy involvement in causes like the Girl Scouts. She seemed to have so much to offer that it’s sad her legacy is tarnished by her association with the inaction of the Hoover administration on the Great Depression. She always said that FDR would implement many of the things Bert tried to do but couldn’t get past Congress, and this seems to have played out. It had to anger her that her husband, so known for his ability to deal with disasters, is remembered in history as the president who didn’t know what to do during the country’s greatest economic crisis.
Lou herself seems so interesting and accomplished. She is one of the most educated and prepared First Ladies in American history. While not many people know her, those who take the time to learn about her will be amazed!
My Time with Lou
I had a hard time connecting with Lou. She was a science fan and loved the adventure of the outdoors, both of which are decidedly not my favorites! She seemed impossibly capable with no vulnerability, which makes it hard to relate to her.
I felt for Lou’s marriage which had to have been difficult with as much time as they spent apart, especially after the White House. She and Bert basically lived on opposite sides of the country for a decade. That seems strange and lonely.
I didn’t get a good grasp of the real Lou from my reading. Hopefully I can continue to research her to learn more! What I did learn, however, made me greatly admire her tenacity and intelligence.
Travels with Lou
Lou is probably our most well traveled First Lady with her adventures in Asia, Australia, and Europe, but California was always her home.
California
Stanford
You can see the home Lou designed that now serves as the home of the president of Stanford at 623 Mirada Road. You can also see the Lou Henry Hoover Girl Scout House and a few exhibits at the Hoover Institution.
The home where Bert and Lou married is a private home but it was featured in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago!
Iowa
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch
The first presidential library established by the National Archives, this site is made up of Hoover’s birthplace cabin and a Quaker meetinghouse. The site also includes the graves of Bert and Lou. NOTE: the library is closed for renovations until 2026.
New York
Waldorf Astoria, New York
This luxury hotel is where Bert and Lou lived for years and is where she died in 1944. Its rooms are recreated at the Hoover Presidential Library.
Virginia
Rapidan Camp, Shenandoah National Park
You can hike to the spot where Lou and Bert tried to find rest. It was also used by FDR’s cabinet members and other presidents through Jimmy Carter. (Photos from NPS)
Washington, DC
2300 S street – their DC home is now the Embassy of Myanmar
Smithsonian National Museum of American History – Visit the First Ladies exhibit to see Lou’s beautiful dresses!
London, England
Both of the Hoover homes (39 Hyde Park Gate and a home on Hornton Street) still seem to be standing.
To Learn More
Books to Read:
Links are Amazon affiliate links. Be sure to see my Bookshop.org list for all of the books related to my Booking It Through History: First Ladies project.
Nonfiction:
A Woman of Adventure: The Life and Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover by Annette B. Dunlap
This biography is the definitive one on Lou, and while it can get tedious, it is detailed and thorough.
TV Shows/Movies
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Podcasts
Websites
Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Hoover Institution – Lou Henry Hoover archives
White House Historical Society
- Facebook post with her home movies
- Ornament – the Hoover Christmas ornament honors the Hoovers’ first Christmas in the White House when there was a great fire in the West Wing. They continued hosting a party and gave out little firetrucks to the children the following year.
Lou Hoover is a forgotten woman with an amazing life. Her education and dedication to giving back to the needy are to be admired and celebrated.
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