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The Health and Medical History of President

Herbert Hoover

"A sound doctor must be opposed to exercise and in favor of tobacco." [1a]

President #31.

Lived: 1874·1964.		Served: 1929·1933.

Timeline:

<== 2007
|<== 1776

Maladies = croup · childhood ills · snored · healthy · handshake problems · gall bladder · shingles · intestinal cancer · deaf and nearly blind · GI hemorrhage ·· Odds & Ends ·· Resources

Maladies and Conditions

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croup	Almost suffocated from croup at age 2. His Aunt Agnes wrote: "We all thought he was dead. ... The eyes of the infant were pressed closed with pennies; and a sheet was drawn over his body; but after resuscitation by his uncle, John Minthorn, Herbert stirred to life." [1b]
childhood ills	Hoover had several health problems as a child, including measles, mumps, diphtheria, earache, and chicken pox. He badly burned a foot when he stepped, barefoot, on a hot iron in his father's blacksmith shop. Another time, he almost chopped off his right index finger while playing with a hatchet. [1b]
snored	Reliability of this information is uncertain. [2]
healthy	Is reported to have not missed a day of work during his presidency as a result of illness [1c]. This was despite a gruelling work schedule and an aversion to exercise [More].
handshake problems	The annual White House reception, in which Hoover had to shake hands with thousands of visitors, was a problem. His hand was at times so swollen that he could not write for days. Once he received a bad cut from a diamond ring that was turned inward; the reception was abruptly halted. [1a]
gall bladder	Hoover had a gall bladder attack in 1949 (age 75), which he described to reporters as "Much ado about nothing." In 1958, while attending the Brussels World Fair, he developed abdominal pain and was diagnosed with cholecystitis. His gall bladder was removed. [1a]
shingles	Shingles, while working with the Truman Commission (?1947).
intestinal cancer	A malignant intestinal tumor was removed in his 88th year. Ten months later he had severe gastrointestinal bleeding and seemed terminally ill. He improved. In early 1964, he was frail, but his mind was clear and he maintained a great deal of correspondence. [1a]
deaf and nearly blind	In his later he years he was "deaf and nearly blind." [1a] Hoover could use this to his advantage. In 1963 there were several celebratory events upon the successful conclusion of NASA's Project Mercury... Finally there was another banquet, with a lot of speeches. Former president Herbert Hoover was there, sitting next to Walt Williams at the head table. When Jim Webb [the chief of NASA] got up to talk, I noticed Hoover whispering in Williams's ear. I asked about it later. "He asked who that was," Williams said. "When I told him Jim Webb, he turned his hearing aid off and asked me to poke him when Webb was finished." [3a]
GI hemorrhage	Gastrointestinal bleeding recurred in February 1964, and was complicated by pneumonia. He lingered until October, when a severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage occurred. He refused to be hospitalized, and died in a coma on October 20, 1964. [1d]

Odds & Ends

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Through his mother, Hoover was an eighth cousin once removed of Richard Nixon [4a].
He took an occasional social drink and learned to enjoy a good cigar. (Later, however, he would refuse to allow photographs while cigar smoking.) [1e]
Hoover's only recreation during his presidency was a morning session with a medicine ball, six days a week, regardless of season or weather. He missed only one session during his term in office [1c]. [More]

Resources

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Disclosure: Doctor Zebra gets a few pennies if you click & buy from Amazon.

Books (ranked by Amazon.com sales)		More


Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive Joan Hoff Wilson; Oscar Handlin	Herbert Hoover (Encyclopedia of Presidents) Susan Clinton	Lou Henry Hoover: Activist First Lady (Modern First Ladies) Nancy Beck Young

Resources used by Dr. Zebra

Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-89950-956-8 @ Amazon [a] p. 203 [b] p. 201 [c] p. 202 [d] p. 204 [e] pp. 201-202
Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
Dugan, James. Bedlam in the boudoir. Colliers. 22 Feb. 1947; pages 17, 69-70.
Credibility is dubious. Just before a list of Presidents, the article states: "Twenty of the 32 Presidents ... are proved or believed on a thick web of circumstance to have been nocturnal nuisances in the White House."
Kraft, Christopher C.; Schefter, James. Flight: My Life in Mission Control. NY: Dutton, 2001. 372 pp.. ISBN 0-525-94571-7 @ Amazon [a] p. 188
Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (ed). Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of American. 2nd ed. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1981. ISBN 0-85011-033-5 @ Amazon [a] p. 480
Enumerates the ancestors and descendants of American presidents up through Ronald Reagan.
Smith, Ira R. T.; Morris, Joe Alex. "Dear Mr. President:" The Story of Fifty Years in the White House Mail Room. New York: Julian Messner, 1949. [a] p. 141
Ira Smith was a peppery fellow who ran the White House mail room from 1897 to 1948. He started working during the administration of William McKinley and was the only mail room staffer until the volume of mail made it necessary to hire help during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt.
The Herbert Hoover web page at the White House.
(1 match when checked in November 2003)

Alternate index terms: Medical history of President Hoover, Medical history of President Herbert C. Hoover, Medical history of President Herbert Clark Hoover.

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