Louis McHenry Howe (1871 - 1936)

Born 14 Jan 1871 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Apr 1936 at age 65 in Bethesda, Montgomery, Maryland, United States

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Louis Howe is Notable.

Biography

Louis McHenry Howe was best known as a major political advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was born to a wealthy Democratic family in Indianapolis. He was a sickly and asthmatic child and was kept home most of time. To avoid exposing him to public school, the parents enrolled him in an all-girls seminary. The family lost heavily in the Panic of 1873 and following depression. When he was 7, the family lost their house and moved to Saratoga, New York with help from Eliza's family. HIs father took a job as a reporter for a Saratoga newspaper, and later bought a small Democratic paper of his own, The Saratoga Sun. Louis' health improved in his teenage years, and he planned to attend Yale University, but the combined problems of his health and the family finances prevented attendance at Yale. Instead, he took a job with his father's newspaper.

When he was 25 in 1896, he met Grace Hartley, a well-to-do 20-year-old. He courted her for two years and they were engaged in 1898 and married the next year. They had three children, one of whom died in infancy. The family finances continue to struggle, and Louis lost his job with the Sun. He worked various jobs, and in 1906 began covering the Albany legislature for the New York Herald. He was hired later that year by a rich Democratic to oppose the Tammany Hall political campaign of William Randolph Hearst for Governor, and Hearst lost the election. After that he continued to blend two careers of political reporter and political campaigner, and learned a great deal about the business of politics.

He met FDR while campaigning against Tammany Hall, and they became fast friends and political leaders. He helped manage Roosevelt's campaigns, and when Woodrow Wilson appointed Roosevelt as Secretary of the Navy, he brought Louis with him as Chief of Staff. From that point on, Roosevelt and Howe worked together to build a national network of Democratic supporters. This continued through various campaigns, both winning and losing, and through the onset of Roosevelt's polio. The long range goal throughout this period was winning the Presidency.

He also became a friend and confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt and helped her develop her public image and skills.

He followed FDR into the White House as Secretary to the President. The Lincoln Bedroom became his home. His health seriously declined in 1934, and he spent his last two years in and out of Bethesda Naval Hospital. He died on 18 April 1936, and Roosevelt gave him a state funeral in the East Room.

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Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia entry for Louis Howe

• NOTE: There are many sources available on the life of Louis McHenry Howe. See the Wikipedia entry for a list of them, including fictional portrayals in the movies by such as Hume Cronyn in the 1960 movie Sunrise at Campobello.