What did oveta culp hobby do

Oveta Culp Hobby

American businesswoman and government official (1905–1995)

Oveta Culp Hobby

Hobby while director of the Women's Army Corps, c. 1942

In office
April 11, 1953 – July 31, 1955
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byHerself (Federal Security Agency Administrator)
Succeeded byMarion B. Folsom
In office
January 20, 1953 – April 11, 1953
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byOscar Ewing
Succeeded byHerself (Health, Education and Welfare Secretary)
Born

Oveta Culp


(1905-01-19)January 19, 1905
Killeen, Texas, U.S.
DiedAugust 16, 1995(1995-08-16) (aged 90)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (after 1953)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (before 1953)
Spouse

William P. Hobby

(m. 1931; died 1964)​
Children2, including William Jr.
EducationMary Hardin Baylor College
South Texas College of Law
University of Texas at Austin
Allegiance United States
Branch/service Uni

Oveta Culp Hobby

Bio

Oveta Culp Hobby, publisher of the Houston Post, began her career of public service at age 20 when she became the first woman parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives. In 1929, she joined the staff of the Post, where she met and married former governor William Hobby. During World War II, she worked for the War Department and was appointed commander of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs). Colonel Hobby had "auxiliary" dropped from the name and increased the number of Army job classifications for women from 54 to 239. In 1945, she became the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. She later served under President Eisenhower as the first Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. She took over the reins of the Post when her husband died in 1964 and was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1984.

Audio

Written by Cynthia J. Beeman
Read by Sara Hickman

One of the most accomplished Texas women of the 20th century, Oveta Culp Hobby excelled in numerous ways, including as the first d

Oveta Culp Hobby

Oveta Culp Hobby
Colonel
Women’s Army Corps
January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995

Oveta Culp Hobby, circa 1942. U.S. Army

Throughout her long career in journalism, politics, and the U.S. military, Oveta Culp Hobby earned the respect of all who worked with her. Among many positions, Hobby served as the first director of the Women’s Army Corps, second female cabinet member, and president of the “Houston Post.”

Despite the many limitations faced by women in the early 20th century, Hobby found ways to succeed in male-dominated fields from a young age. Born in Killeen, Texas, in 1904, Oveta Culp grew up admiring her father, an attorney and Texas state legislator. She visited him in his office daily and reportedly read the Congressional Record at the age of ten. After graduating from Temple High School, she attended Baylor Female College (today known as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor) briefly, but her true interest lay in the law. Hobby sat in on law classes at the University of Texas School of Law, but women were not formally admitted. Unable t

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