“The independent girl is a person before whose wrath only the most rash dare stand, and, they, it must be confessed, with much fear and trembling.”
Does this line call out to your eternally 14-year old heart? It’s from a handwritten essay by future-First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, written shortly before her 15th birthday. “The Independent Girl,” penned on January 31, 1890, reveals Lou’s own vivacious and independent spirit.
In the conclusion, Lou seems to channel the future that awaits her as the partner of 31st President Herbert Hoover. She proclaims that the independent girl will sooner or later “meet a spirit equally as independent as her own…and with combined strength go forth to meet the world.”
Go forth, girls.
Source: research.archives.gov
US First Lady Lou Hoover (1874-1944)
- Desegregated White House functions
- Only First Lady (so far) to speak an Asian language. Sometimes Herbert and Lou would speak Chinese to foil eavesdroppers.
- Along with her husband, she translated Agricola’s De Re Metallica from Latin. It is still the standard English translation today.
- Decorated by King Albert I for her work with Belgian refugees during WWI.
- First women to receive a geology degree from Stanford University
- Advocate for Girl Scouting
Source: coolchicksfromhistory
