Oveta Culp Hobby
Encyclopedia
Oveta Culp Hobby was the first secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps
, and chairman of the board of the Houston Post
.
to Isaac William Culp and Emma Elizabeth Hoover. An autodidact, she briefly attended Mary Hardin Baylor College for Women, but did not graduate. She later attended the South Texas School of Law but did not graduate and never passed the bar examination. Beginning at age 21 and for the next several years she served as parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives. In 1931 she married William P. Hobby
, the former Governor of Texas
and the publisher of the Houston Post, and took a position as research editor at the Post. In ensuing years she became the newspaper's executive vice president, president, ultimately becoming its publisher.
During World War II
she headed the War Department's Women's Interest Section for a short time and then became the Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
(later the Women's Army Corps
), which was created to fill gaps left by a shortage of men. The members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to be in Army uniform. Hobby achieved the rank of colonel and received the Distinguished Service Medal
for efforts during the war. She was the first woman in the Army to receive this award.
named her head of the Federal Security Agency
, a non-cabinet post, and she was invited to sit in on cabinet meetings. Soon, on April 11, 1953, she became the first secretary, and first female secretary, of the new Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which later became the Department of Health and Human Services
. This was her second time organizing a new government agency. Among other decisions and actions at HEW, she made the decision to approve Jonas Salk
's polio vaccine
.
She resigned her post in 1955 to return to Houston to care for her ailing husband. At the time of her resignation she was embroiled in controversies related to the polio vaccine Cutter Incident. Back in Houston, Hobby resumed her position with the Houston Post as president and editor and cared for her husband. She went on to serve on many boards and advisory positions with various civic and business institutions around the country. Seventeen colleges and universities, including Columbia University
and the University of Pennsylvania
awarded her with honorary doctoral degrees. She died of a stroke in 1995, in Houston, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery
.
Her son William P. Hobby, Jr.
, served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas
from 1973 to 1991. Her daughter Jessica was married to Henry E. Catto, Jr.
, the former United States Ambassador to Great Britain and was an activist for environmental causes and for the Democratic Party. Hobby’s grandson Paul Hobby narrowly lost the election for comptroller of Texas to Carole Strayhorn in the 1998 general election.
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
, and chairman of the board of the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
.
Early life and war service
She was born Oveta Culp in Killeen, TexasKilleen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
to Isaac William Culp and Emma Elizabeth Hoover. An autodidact, she briefly attended Mary Hardin Baylor College for Women, but did not graduate. She later attended the South Texas School of Law but did not graduate and never passed the bar examination. Beginning at age 21 and for the next several years she served as parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives. In 1931 she married William P. Hobby
William P. Hobby
William Pettus Hobby was the publisher of the Houston Post and the 27th Governor of the U.S. state of Texas from 1917 to 1921....
, the former Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
and the publisher of the Houston Post, and took a position as research editor at the Post. In ensuing years she became the newspaper's executive vice president, president, ultimately becoming its publisher.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she headed the War Department's Women's Interest Section for a short time and then became the Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps can refer to:* Women's Army Auxiliary Corps , a branch of the British military in the First World War* prior name of the Women's Army Corps, a branch of the U.S. military in World War II...
(later the Women's Army Corps
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
), which was created to fill gaps left by a shortage of men. The members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to be in Army uniform. Hobby achieved the rank of colonel and received the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...
for efforts during the war. She was the first woman in the Army to receive this award.
Political career and later life
President Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
named her head of the Federal Security Agency
Federal Security Agency
The Federal Security Agency was an independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the "Reorganization Act of 1939"...
, a non-cabinet post, and she was invited to sit in on cabinet meetings. Soon, on April 11, 1953, she became the first secretary, and first female secretary, of the new Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which later became the Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
. This was her second time organizing a new government agency. Among other decisions and actions at HEW, she made the decision to approve Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk
Jonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. He was born in New York City to parents from Ashkenazi Jewish Russian immigrant families...
's polio vaccine
Polio vaccine
Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat poliomyelitis . The first was developed by Jonas Salk and first tested in 1952. Announced to the world by Salk on April 12, 1955, it consists of an injected dose of inactivated poliovirus. An oral vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin...
.
She resigned her post in 1955 to return to Houston to care for her ailing husband. At the time of her resignation she was embroiled in controversies related to the polio vaccine Cutter Incident. Back in Houston, Hobby resumed her position with the Houston Post as president and editor and cared for her husband. She went on to serve on many boards and advisory positions with various civic and business institutions around the country. Seventeen colleges and universities, including Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
awarded her with honorary doctoral degrees. She died of a stroke in 1995, in Houston, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery
Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)
The Glenwood Cemetery is located at 2525 Washington Avenue in Houston, Texas. It was the first cemetery in Houston to be professionally designed and opened in 1871. The cemetery is situated between Washington Avenue on the North side and Memorial Drive on the South side, the latter overlooking...
.
Her son William P. Hobby, Jr.
William P. Hobby, Jr.
William Pettus “Bill” Hobby, Jr., is a Texas Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37th Lieutenant Governor...
, served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
from 1973 to 1991. Her daughter Jessica was married to Henry E. Catto, Jr.
Henry E. Catto, Jr.
Henry Edward Catto, Jr. is an American businessman and public servant.A native of San Antonio, Texas and son of a prominent insurance man, he was educated at T.M.I.—The Episcopal School of Texas, graduating in 1948, and at Williams College, graduating in 1952. In the early 1960s, Catto twice ran...
, the former United States Ambassador to Great Britain and was an activist for environmental causes and for the Democratic Party. Hobby’s grandson Paul Hobby narrowly lost the election for comptroller of Texas to Carole Strayhorn in the 1998 general election.
Legacy
- The library at Central Texas CollegeCentral Texas CollegeCentral Texas College is a community college located in Killeen, Texas, which was founded in 1965.As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of CTC comprises the following:...
is named after her. - A residence dormitoryDormitoryA dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
at Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in College Station, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
is named after her. - The Oveta Culp Hobby Soldier & Family Readiness Center at Fort Hood, TexasFort Hood, TexasFort Hood is a United States military post located outside of Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood. It islocated halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas....
is named for her. - An elementary schoolElementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in Killeen, TexasKilleen, TexasKilleen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
(Killeen ISD) is named after her. - The U.S. Post Office issued an 84-cent stamp in her honor in 2011.
Sources
- Pando, Robert T. "Oveta Culp Hobby: A Study in Power and Control." Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, 2008, 220 pages.
- Treadwell, Mattie. The Woman's Army Corps (1954)
- Walsh, Kelli Cardenas. "Oveta Culp Hobby: A transformational leader from the Texas legislature to Washington, D.C." Ph.D. diseertation, University of South Carolina, 2006, 199 pages; AAT in ProquestProQuestProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based electronic publisher and microfilm publisher.It provides archives of sources such as newspapers, periodicals, dissertations, and aggregated databases of many types. Its content is estimated at 125 billion digital pages...
External links
- Papers of Oveta Culp Hobby, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- Guide to the Oveta Culp Hobby Papers (1817-1995) at the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University
- Oveta Culp Hobby and the Women's Army Corps
- Women in the U.S. Army