Herbert Thatcher

Born Herbert McCurry, he was adopted as a child and took the name of his foster family, Thatcher. He attended law school at the University of Missouri. Thatcher competed for his university in football and as captain of the track and field team. He was one of the best American varsity athletes in discus throw and shot put, winning the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in the shot put twice (1912-13) and in the discus throw three times (1912-14). Thatcher was voted onto the 1912 All-America College Team as a discus thrower. For the 1912 Olympic Games, however, he was entered in the shot put but did not start. He was a member of the Acacia Fraternity.

Until the 1920s, Herbert Thatcher lived in Missouri where he also married his wife, Lila Lorane Dalton, in 1915. The couple had two sons and a daughter. He spent most of his later life in Arkansas. As an attorney, he was general counsel of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) for many years. He also lobbied in Washington for institutions like the American Beekeeping Federation and other farm groups.