Hubert Humphrey

In 1936, after two years of dating, Hubert Humphrey married Muriel Fay Buck, a bookkeeper. They had four children together; three sons and a daughter. The couple remained married until Humphrey's death.

Hubert Humphrey died of bladder cancer on January 13, 1978, at his home in Waverly, Minnesota, U.S. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Hubert Horatio Humphrey was born on May 27, 1911, in Wallace, South Dakota, U.S., to Hubert H. Humphrey Sr., a pharmacist, and his wife, Christine Sannes.

He received his early education from local public schools and then attended the University of Minnesota for a year before returning to help manage his father's drugstore. Subsequently, he went to the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado, and earned a pharmacist’s license in 1933.

After working in his family drugstore for several years, he again went to the University of Minnesota and graduated with an arts degree in 1939. The following year, he obtained masters in political science degree from the Louisiana State University.

In 1940, he returned to the University of Minnesota and worked as an instructor for a year. Alongside, Humphrey also oversaw the Works Progress Administration and over the next few years, he held a series of positions in several wartime government agencies, including the War Manpower Commission.

In 1944, Hubert Humphrey served as the manager of the Minnesota campaign for President Franklin Roosevelt and put in a lot of effort in merging the state’s Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties.

After running unsuccessfully for the Mayor of Minneapolis in 1943, Humphrey made a second attempt for the post in 1945 and was elected this time. He served as the Mayor of Minneapolis until 1948.

In 1948, Humphrey was elected to the United States Senate after his rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention to include a strong civil rights plank in the party's platform.

He was re-elected to the senate in 1954 and 1960, thereby serving at the post for almost 16 years. From 1961 to 1964, Humphrey also served as the 14th United States Senate Majority Whip.

At the Democratic National Convention in 1964, Humphrey was chosen as Lyndon Johnson's running mate; Lyndon Johnson was Democratic Party’s nominee for President. In January 1965, Humphrey was inaugurated as the 38th Vice President of the United States, where he served for the next four years, completing his term in 1969.

During his term as the Mayor of Minneapolis, Humphrey worked hard to change the communal atmosphere in his state. Through political and legislative action, he tried to abolish the unfair policies and practices in Minnesota which included anti-Semitism and discrimination against blacks and other minorities.

While serving in the Senate, Humphrey was known as an active and candid orator who was outspoken on issues of civil rights, social welfare, and fair employment. An able parliamentary leader and prolific architect of legislation, he was much-admired for realizing bipartisan support for the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (1963) and the Civil Rights Act (1964).