Hubert Humphrey

Hubert Humphrey
Official portrait, 1965
38th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 1965 – January 20, 1969
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Succeeded by	Spiro Agnew
United States Senator from Minnesota
In office January 3, 1971 – January 13, 1978
Preceded by	Eugene McCarthy
Succeeded by	Muriel Humphrey
In office January 3, 1949 – December 30, 1964
Preceded by	Joseph H. Ball
Succeeded by	Walter Mondale
14th United States Senate Majority Whip
In office January 3, 1961 – December 30, 1964
Preceded by	Mike Mansfield
Succeeded by	Russell B. Long
1st Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office 1977–1978
President	Sen. James Eastland
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	George J. Mitchell (1987)
35th Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
In office July 2, 1945 – November 30, 1948
Preceded by	Marvin L. Kline
Succeeded by	Eric G. Hoyer
Personal details
Born	(1911-05-27)May 27, 1911 Wallace, South Dakota
Died	January 13, 1978(1978-01-13) (aged 66) Waverly, Minnesota
Political party	Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Spouse(s)	Muriel Buck Humphrey
Alma mater	University of Minnesota, Drew College of Pharmacy and Louisiana State University
Signature

Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician and statesman. He served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Before becoming vice president, he was a United States senator from Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and again from 1971 to 1978.

Early life

Humphrey was born in a room over his father's drugstore in Wallace, South Dakota. He was the son of Ragnild Kristine Sannes (1883–1973), a Norwegian immigrant, and Hubert Humphrey, Sr. (1882–1949). Humphrey spent most of his childhood in Doland, South Dakota, on the Dakota prairie; the town's population was about 600 people when he lived there. His father was a licensed pharmacist who was mayor and a town council member. In the late 1920s a severe economic decline hit Doland; both of the town's banks closed and Humphrey's father fought to keep his drugstore business open.

After his son graduated from Doland's high school, Hubert Humphrey, Sr. left Doland and opened a new drugstore in the larger town of Huron, South Dakota; a population of 11,000 people, where he hoped to improve his fortunes. Because of the family's financial struggles, Humphrey had to leave the University of Minnesota after just one year. He earned a pharmacist's license from the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado (completing a two-year licensure program in just six months), and spent years from 1931 to 1937 helping his father run the family drugstore. Over time the Humphrey Drug Company became a financial gain business and the family again succeeded.

Humphrey did not enjoy working as a pharmacist, and his dream was to earn a doctorate in political science and become a college professor. In 1937 he returned to the University of Minnesota and earned a bachelor's degree in 1939. He was a member of Phi Delta Chi Fraternity. He also earned a master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1940, serving as an assistant instructor of political science. One of his classmates was Russell B. Long, who would become a U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He then became an instructor and doctoral student at the University of Minnesota from 1940 to 1941 (joining the American Federation of Teachers), and was a supervisor for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Humphrey soon became active in Minneapolis politics, and as a result he never finished his PhD.He died of Bladder cancer in Waverley Minnesota at age 66

Political career

Humphrey was a United States Senator from Minnesota twice, and was Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Americans for Democratic Action. He was also mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1945–1949.

1968 election

Humphrey began his campaign for president after President Lyndon B. Johnson ended his re-election campaign in March 1968. A few months later, Humphrey was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the United States presidential election but narrowly lost to the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon.

Death

Hubert Humphrey died of bladder cancer in Minnesota at age 66