Born October 7, 1888
Orient, Iowa

Died November 18, 1965
Danbury, Connecticut

Secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce, vice president of the United States

Henry Wallace. Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.

"To his friends and neighbors in Iowa, Wallace was both known and unknown. Known best was his name. Three generations of Wallaces had succeeded in linking the family name to the cause of agriculture...."

From American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace

Henry Wallace played several major roles in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's (1882–1945; served 1933–45; see entry) administrations. Wallace was secretary of agriculture from 1933 to 1940 during the Great Depression, then vice president from 1941 to 1945 during World War II (1939–45), and finally secretary of commerce in the early postwar years of 1945 and 1946. He is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable people ever to serve as secretary of agriculture. In the 1920s young Wallace earned an international reputation...