Irwin H. Hoover

Irwin Hood Hoover, better known as “Ike,” was born on October 24, 1871, in Washington, D.C.¹ On May 6, 1891, Hoover went to the White House on behalf of the Edison Company to install electricity for the first time. President Benjamin Harrison, afraid of the new technology, hired Hoover as an electrician to turn the lights on and off each day– which turned into a forty-two year career at the Executive Mansion. Initially, he was employed by the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds and assigned to the White House; he later worked as a doorkeeper.² 

In 1904, Ike Hoover moved to the usher’s office and President William Howard Taft promoted him to chief usher in 1909.³ From planning presidential funerals and White House weddings to traveling with presidents on domestic and international trips, he was an integral part of the household.⁴ Hoover modernized the role of Chief Usher as we know it today. Prior to this, the steward managed social functions while the head housekeeper oversaw the domestic staff and budget. By the time of his passing in 1933, the role of chief usher consolidated more of these responsibilities.⁵ As one newspaper put it: “Mr. Hoover…is more than the Chief Usher at the White House. He is the strong foundation on which the administration of the White House proper is constructed. He is the main cog in the machinery that operates the home…”⁶ 

On September 14, 1933, Ike Hoover passed away. President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered to hold a funeral at the White House for the longtime chief usher, but instead, his family opted for a small ceremony and burial at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The Roosevelt family attended his last rites.⁷ A memoir titled 42 Years in the White House was published posthumously under Hoover’s name– however, some first ladies, colleagues, and historians have called into question the authorship and authenticity of the book.⁸