John H. Hoover (Napoleon's World)

John Howard Hoover (1887-1970) was the 33rd President of the United States, serving following the death of Ted Jones until he left office in 1965. Hoover, a career Naval officer who rose to the rank of Admiral and who served Prescott Bush as the first National Security Advisor, was chosen by independent Presidential candidate Ted Jones in 1960 as his running mate. The genial, soft-spoken Midwesterner Hoover made for a balanced ticket with the pugnacious, charismatic Virginian. 73 years old at inauguration, he was the oldest Vice President.

Hoover kept a low profile as Vice President, serving as an effective "shadow Secretary of State" and managed the relationship between the Jones White House and a generally skeptical military and diplomatic establishment that had soured on Jones (despite Jones being a retired military officer like Hoover). When Jones died of an aneurysm in 1963, Hoover became the __th President to ascend to the office from the Vice Presidency. 75 at inauguration, he was the oldest President in history. Hoover continued with Jones' arms and space race agenda, but was generally more genial and laid back than his predecessor and cultivated a good relationship with Speaker Spotnicky. Hoover did not seek a term in his own right and left office at the age of 77, replaced by Nationalist Dick Van Dyke on January 20, 1965. Washington Hoover International Airport was opened during his Presidency at named in his honor after his death in 1970 - his Presidential Center, the John Hoover Memorial and Library, was opened in 1976 in Columbus, Ohio.