Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He was born on May 27, 1911, in Wallace, South Dakota.
Humphrey attended the University of Minnesota and later became a professor of political science at Macalester College. He ran a failed campaign for mayor of Minneapolis in 1943, but went on to co-found the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) in 1944.
In 1948, Humphrey was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served three terms until 1964. During his time in the Senate, he was the lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, introduced the first initiative to create the Peace Corps, and chaired the Select Committee on Disarmament.
Humphrey was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States and was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He was a key figure in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was a strong advocate for the inclusion of a proposal to end racial segregation in the 1948 Democratic National Convention's party platform.
In 1964, Humphrey was chosen by President Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate, and the Democratic ticket won a landslide victory in the election. Humphrey served as vice president until 1969, when he launched his campaign for the presidency.
Humphrey's presidential campaign was marked by controversy and division within the Democratic Party. He was a strong supporter of the Vietnam War, which was unpopular with many Democrats, and he avoided the primaries to focus on winning delegates in non-primary states.
Despite receiving nearly as many popular votes as his Republican opponent Richard Nixon, Humphrey lost the election due to Nixon's wide margin in the electoral vote. Humphrey returned to the Senate in 1971 and served until his death in 1978.
Humphrey was a dedicated public servant who spent his life advocating for social justice and civil rights. He was a true champion of American democracy and will always be remembered as a significant figure in American history.
