How a pharmacist’s son used a wooden pig to launch a political career

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before he was the 38th Vice President, Hubert Humphrey helped run a South Dakota drugstore that sold medicine for both humans and hogs. This unusual family business, complete with a wooden pig sign, provided the foundation for a man who would eventually challenge the very foundations of American segregation.

Growing up in the Dakota prairie, Hubert Humphrey’s early life was defined by economic volatility. During the late 1920s, a severe downturn hit his hometown of Doland, causing local banks to close and forcing his father, Hubert Sr., to move the family business to Huron, South Dakota. To survive, the Humphreys became manufacturers of patent medicines for both people and livestock. Their flagship products included 'Humphrey's BTV' for hogs and 'Humphrey's Sniffles' for humans, the latter of which featured a vegetable-oil base and benzocaine to outperform competitors like Vick's.

Humphrey’s path from pharmacy to politics was driven by a deep-seated dissatisfaction with manual labor. Though he briefly completed a two-year pharmacy program in just six months to help his father, he found the work physically and mentally draining, experiencing fainting spells and stomach pains. Driven by a desire to be 'somebody,' he returned to the University of Minnesota, eventually graduating magna cum laude in 1939.

His political identity was forged in the crucible of mid-century racial tension. As Mayor of Minneapolis (1945–1948), Humphrey fought to dismantle the city's reputation as an 'antisemitism capital' and established municipal protections against racial discrimination in employment. This commitment culminated in his legendary 1948 speech at the Democratic National Convention. Defying party elders who feared alienating Southern Democrats, Humphrey passionately advocated for a 'minority plank' in the party platform, famously declaring that the nation was '172 years (too) late' to address civil rights and calling for the party to walk 'into the bright sunshine of human rights.'

Despite his successes as a senator and vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, Humphrey’s career was often marked by intense division. He faced accusations of being a 'draft dodger' due to medical rejections from the military and struggled through a narrow loss in the 1968 presidential election, a campaign deeply fractured by his support for the Vietnam War.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Huey Long's feud with Standard Oil began with one lost oil investment
• A heated football rivalry was once cooled by a wager involving a prize pig
• How one senator's anti-war challenge forced a president to withdraw
• The illiterate tailor who rose from poverty to become the 17th U.S. President
• The unassuming haberdasher who navigated the dawn of the nuclear age
• Can a professional boxer overcome a decade of chronic health struggles to reach greatness?
• The storm, the bells, and the hymn that conquered the world
• The Silk Road’s enduring legacy: how a foreign diaspora became Chinese
• Can you learn to love by treating a relationship like a research project?
• How a bitter legal battle birthed the most influential technical death metal album ever
• How a medieval German noble family became the architects of modern British royalty
• The corporate roots and oil-rich history behind Surf City, USA

More in Festivals & celebrations · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics