Herbert Hoover, who later became President of the United States, was involved in humanitarian and relief efforts in Europe before, during and after World War I. This gave him the opportunity to amass a collection of documents relating to the war, the Russian Revolution, and other historical developments of the early 20th century. Starting in 1919 he donated the collected materials to Stanford, his alma mater, along with funds to maintain and develop the documents, called the Hoover War Collection and later the Hoover War Library.