That is true, but he wasn't really the first non-European to scale such heights.
Eighty years ago today, Charles Curtis, who was the vice president under Herbert Hoover, became the first non-European to hold either of the two highest offices in the executive branch of the federal government.Most of his ancestors on his mother's side were Native Americans, and Curtis, who was 3/8th American Indian, spent much of his childhood with his maternal grandparents on the Kaw reservation in what is now Kansas. In fact, before becoming vice president in his late 60s, Curtis served as a congressman, then as a senator, from Kansas.
In an interesting side note to the story, Curtis was the last president or vice president to have facial hair.
And here is a point that should be of interest to those who are fascinated by technology.
On this date in 1925, Hoover's predecessor, Calvin Coolidge, became the first president whose inauguration was broadcast on radio.It was not the first time Coolidge took the oath of office. He became president in 1923, following the death of Warren Harding. But it was the first — and only — time he gave an inaugural address.
"Silent Cal," as he was known, wasn't particularly silent on that occasion. His inaugural address ran for more than 4,000 words. After winning nearly every state outside the South in a three-way race, as well as presiding over a booming economy, Coolidge undoubtedly felt compelled to speak more than he usually did.
"No one can contemplate current conditions without finding much that is satisfying and still more that is encouraging," Coolidge said.
Coolidge was greatly admired by Ronald Reagan, but he typically falls in the middle of scholars' presidential rankings, largely because there is disagreement among historians over whether his approach to the economy was wise. Some believe in his reduction of government's role as the best way to do things while others advocate more regulation.
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