Hubert Work (July 3, 1860 – December 14, 1942) was a U.S. administrator and physician. He served as the United States Postmaster General from 1922 until 1923 during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. He served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1923 until 1928 during the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.

Hubert Work
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
July 24, 1928 – September 9, 1929
Preceded byWilliam M. Butler
Succeeded byClaudius H. Huston
29th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office
March 4, 1923 – July 24, 1928
PresidentWarren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Preceded byAlbert B. Fall
Succeeded byRoy Owen West
47th United States Postmaster General
In office
March 4, 1922 – March 4, 1923
PresidentWarren G. Harding
Preceded byWill H. Hays
Succeeded byHarry Stewart New
Personal details
Born(1860-07-03)July 3, 1860
Marion Center, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1942(1942-12-14) (aged 82)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
EducationIndiana University of Pennsylvania (BA)
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania (MD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitUnited States Army Medical Corps
Battles/warsWorld War I

Early life and career

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Work was born in Marion Center, Pennsylvania, to Tabitha Van Horn and Moses Thompson Work. He attended medical school at the University of Michigan from 1882 to 1883 and received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1885. He settled in Colorado and founded Woodcroft Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado, in 1896.

Work was active in the Republican Party and served as the Colorado state chairman in 1912. In 1914, Work ran unsuccessfully in a special election for the United States Senate. He was defeated by Democrat Charles S. Thomas, later the governor of Colorado.

Work received 98,728 votes (39 percent) compared to Thomas' 102,037 ballots (40.3 percent). This was Colorado's first Senate election by popular vote under the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. During World War I, Work served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

From 1921 to 1922,[1] Work served as the president of the American Medical Association. He was the Colorado delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1920 and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1928 to 1929.

Work served as the U.S. Assistant Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922, and as the U.S. Postmaster General from 1922 to 1923 under President Harding. He served as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1923 to 1928, under the administrations of President Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. During Work's tenure as the Secretary of the Interior, American citizenship was formally granted to the Native Americans in the United States. He resigned from the Department of the Interior on July 24, 1928, and was replaced by Roy O. West. He was the first physician to serve in the U.S. Cabinet.[2][3]

Personal life

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In 1887, Work married Laura M. Arbuckle (1859 – 1924), with whom he had three children: Philip, Dorcas "Doris" Logan, and Robert Van Horn Work. Work's first wife died and he married the former Ethel Reed Gano in 1933.

Work died in Denver, Colorado, on December 14, 1942. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, next to his first wife.

References

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  1. ^ "Full List of Annual Meetings and Presidents". American Medical Association. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  2. ^ Robert Sobel and David B. Sicilia (2003). The United States Executive Branch: A Biographical Directory of Heads of State and Cabinet Officials.
  3. ^ "How educated is Trump's Cabinet?". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
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Party political offices
First Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Colorado
(Class 3)

1914
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Republican National Committee
1928–1929
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by United States Postmaster General
1922–1923
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Interior
1923–1928
Succeeded by