On This Day

Oveta Culp Hobby becomes 1st at Health, Education, & Welfare

Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953...

Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, Hobby was the second woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.

She also served as the first director of the Women's Army Corps from 16 May 1942 to 11 July 1945, and was sequentially editor, publisher and chair of the board of the Houston Post. She entered public service when President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed her administrator of the Federal Security Agency, soon after reorganized as a federal executive department, known then as Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and Hobby became its first head.

Historical Significance

Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953 to 1955.

Events Before

  1. Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 5th string quartet and premieres it in Leningrad in 1953

    The 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich are a set of 24 musical pieces for solo piano, one in each of the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale.

  2. "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV

    Today (also called The Today Show) is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952.

  3. Jawaharlal Nehru's Indian National Congress wins India's first general election

    The Indian National Congress (INC), also known as the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a big tent political party in India.

  4. First TV detector van begins operating in the UK to identify users of unlicensed television sets

    First TV detector van begins operating in the UK to identify users of unlicensed television sets

  5. Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the o

    Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Events After

  1. KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, Louisiana (CBS) begins broadcasting

    KSLA (channel 12) is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Ark-La-Tex region.

  2. Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM headquarters i

    Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM headquarters in New York City

  3. "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New Yor

    "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New York, establishes its popularity in the US

  4. First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh,

    First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  5. US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally becomes the most powerful nucle

    US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally becomes the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US

More from the 1950s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 11, 1953?
Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, Hobby was the second woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. She also served as the first director of the Women's Army Corps from 16 May 1942 to 11 July 1945, and was sequentially editor, publisher and chair of the board of the Houston Post.
Why is Oveta Culp Hobby becomes 1st at Health, Education, & Welfare significant?
Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953 to 1955.

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