PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 08/13/1945 - HFSID 5169

HERBERT HOOVER
The year after the death of his wife, the former President signs a typed letter to a well wisher.
Typed Letter Signed: "Herbert Hoover", 1 page, 6¼x8¾. Stanford University, California, 1945 August 13. On sheet imprinted with his name to Mr. Ralph Holtzman, Washington, D.C. In full: "Many thanks for your friendly greeting. I appreciate your good wishes. Yours faithfully". Hoover had celebrated his 71st birthday on August 10, so the "friendly greeting" may refer to birthday wishes. This was Hoover's second birthday as a widower; his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, had died on January 7, 1944. After the Hoovers had left the White House (March 4, 1933), they returned to Palo Alto, California, where Mrs. Hoover designed their home on a hill overlooking the Stanford University campus, where they had met while students. Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964) served as the 31st U.S. President from 1929-1933. Blamed by many voters for the Great Depression, he had been defeated in his bid for re-election by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was serving an unprecedented fourth term as President when he died on April 12, 1945, just four months before this letter. Hoover, a capable administrator, had headed the Food Administration to provide relief to Europe and Russia during and after WWI, and he served as Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge (1921-1928). The second President to attain the age of 90 years (John Adams was the first), Hoover lived a record 31 years after leaving the presidency. During his "retirement", Hoover was appointed to commissions to oversee government agencies by Presidents Harry S Truman (1947) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953). Hoover also wrote a number of books and articles. Encapsulated. Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Fine condition.