 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Oveta Culp HobbyName: Oveta Culp HobbyBirth Date: January 19, 1905 Death Date: August 16, 1995 Place of Birth: Killeen, Texas, United States Nationality: American Gender: Female Occupations: businesswoman, government official Oveta Culp Hobby American government official and businesswoman Oveta Culp Hobby (1905-1995) held pioneering roles as the first head of both the Women's Army Corps (WACs) and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). In her leadership of the WACs, Hobby fought for the equal treatment of female soldiers, insisting that they be subject to the same rules and training as men and receive similar responsibilities. She received a number of honors for her life of public service, including the Distinguished Service Award and the George Catlett Marshall Medal for Public Service.Oveta Culp Hobby was one of the most prominent women in American government in the 1940s and 1950s. During World War II, she became the original director of the Women's Army Corps, providing guidance in the creation of the first military group for women in the United States. In the 1950s, she was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…was called to return to the service of the government, participating in the presidential commission on Selective Service and the Vietnam Health Education Task Force of HEW. For her lengthy history of public service, Hobby was awarded the George Catlett Marshall Medal for Public Service by the Association of the United States Army in 1978, becoming the first woman so honored. Hobby died at the age of 90 on August 16, 1995. Associated Organizations Further Reading Adams, Sherman, Firsthand Report: The Story of the Eisenhower Administration, Harper, 1961.Crawford, Ann Fears, and Crystal Sasse Ragsdale, "Mrs. Secretary: Oveta Culp Hobby,"Women in Texas: Their Lives, Their Experiences, Their Accomplishments, Eakin Press, 1982, pp. 249-59.Eisenhower, Dwight D., Mandate for Change, 1953-1956, Doubleday, 1963.Holm, Jeanne, Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution, Presidio Press, 1982.Hurt, Harry III, "The Last of the Great Ladies," Texas Monthly, October 1978, pp. 143-48, 225-40.Miles, Rufus E., Jr., The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Praeger, 1974. |