| Burial Location | Visited | Vice President Grave # |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota |
January 10, 2014 | 41st Visited |
Hubert Humphrey, which was my 41st and
final vice presidential burial site. It is my
belief that this made me, at age 19, the only
person in the world to visit all 66 presidential
and vice presidential burial sites.
The following day we returned to take some
better quality photos, as well as visit two
other people of note interred at the cemetery.
Lakewood Cemetery slightly
before closing time. We quickly
found Humphrey's plot, but it
took a lot of effort to locate his
individual marker in the snow.
for president in 1968. He received the
highest total of votes in thirteen states and
Washington, D.C., but lost the election to
former Vice President Richard Nixon.
*** Interesting Facts ***
* Though one of Minnesota's most prominent politicians, Hubert Humphrey's 1911 birth occurred in Wallace, South Dakota. After graduating high school eighteen years later, Humphrey went to study at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The economic struggles of the time eventually became too much for his father to handle, though, and help was needed at the family drugstore in Huron, South Dakota. Humphrey left the University of Minnesota and was enrolled at the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado, completing a two-year program in a quarter of that time. After receiving his pharmacist's license, Humphrey returned to South Dakota and worked at the drugstore. Humphrey did not enjoy this line of work, and the stress took a toll on him physically. So thin that he was described as "emaciated", he suffered from chronic fainting spells and "a nervous stomach." Probably not coincidentally, these issues subsided when Humphrey left the store in 1937 to return to school.
* Humphrey
was elected to public office for the first time in 1945, being chosen
to serve as the mayor of Minneapolis. He remained mayor for three years
before successfully running for the United States Senate. During his
third term in Congress, on November 22, 1963, Humphrey's political
landscape was effectively altered. That day President John F. Kennedy
was assassinated while riding in his motorcade in Dallas, Texas. His
vice president and successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn into office
aboard Air Force One in Dallas before departing for Andrews Air Force
Base. After arriving at the White House that evening, Johnson headed
across the street to the Executive Office Building, where he held a
meeting with congressional leaders to establish himself as the new
president. One of the politicians in attendance was Hubert Humphrey, and
when the session was over he told the newly-minted president to contact
him any time of day if he needed something. In essence, Humphrey was
already lobbying for the vice presidency, which was to remain vacant
until the inauguration following the 1964 election. The senator's
efforts brought about his desired result, as he was made LBJ's running
mate the following summer.
* After
losing to Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, Humphrey
returned to Minnesota to work as a professor. He was not planning to
stay active in politics, but the announced retirement of Senator Eugene
McCarthy in 1970 resulted in a change of plans for the "Happy Warrior",
who was re-elected to Congress. Humphrey continued to work in the Senate
even after his terminal cancer diagnosis, which he disclosed in August
of 1977. On what ended up being his last trip to Washington, President
Jimmy Carter gave Humphrey command of Air Force One, paying tribute to
his long service. Two days later, on October 25th, Humphrey addressed
the Senate, and the following week he became the first person in
American history to address the House of Representatives in session that
was not either a representative or president. Upon his passing the
following January, Muriel Humphrey temporarily took over her late
husband's Senate seat, making her the first wife of a vice president to
hold public office.
Second Lady: Muriel Fay Buck Humphrey Brown
- Spouse: Muriel Fay Buck Humphrey Brown (m. 1936-1978)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Served Under: Lyndon Baines Johnson (1965-1969)
