Howard L. Pennington
Cite this Page
"Howard L. Pennington," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/762.
- Position
- Chauffeur
- Years in President's House
- circa 1925 – 1955
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Howard Lawrence Pennington was born in North Carolina on August 12, 1905. (1) Pennington served as master sergeant in the U.S. Army and was assigned as a chauffeur to the White House Garage beginning in the late 1920s. (2) In addition to driving several presidents, he sometimes drove friends of the president, political aides, and first children as needed. (3) Pennington retired in 1955 and went on to work as a guard at the Library of Congress. He later moved to Florida, where he died on June 7, 1986. Pennington was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (4)
- (1) Howard L Pennington in the 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00558; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 1-174, Ancestry.com; “Howard Lawrence Pennington,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122189024/howard-lawrence-pennington.
(2) “Howard L. Pennington,” Washington Post, June 10, 1986, pg. C6; White House Employees, 1932, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1932, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; “White House Car Stops Awhile in Twin City,” The Sentinel (North Carolina), April 27, 1931, pg. 1. His obituary states that when he retired in 1955, he had worked there for over fifty years; as a result, he may have started there in 1925 or earlier.
(3) “White House Car Hit on Way to Camp,” The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.), August 25, 1932, pg. 1; “White House Car Stops Awhile in Twin City,” The Sentinel (North Carolina), April 27, 1931, pg. 1.
(4) “Howard L. Pennington,” Washington Post, June 10, 1986, pg. C6; “Howard Lawrence Pennington,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122189024/howard-lawrence-pennington; “Pennington, Howard L.,” Tampa Bay Times (Florida), June 8, 1986, pg. 45. - Birthplace
- North Carolina, USA