Gordon Gray (politician)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
Gordon Gray | |
---|---|
Arthur Flemming | |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs | |
In office July 14, 1955 – February 27, 1957 | |
President | Dwight Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Struve Hensel |
Succeeded by | Mansfield Sprague |
President of the University of North Carolina System | |
In office October 12, 1950 – June 10, 1955 | |
Preceded by | Frank Graham |
Succeeded by | Bill Friday |
2nd United States Secretary of the Army | |
In office April 28, 1949 – April 12, 1950 | |
President | Harry Truman |
Preceded by | Kenneth Royall |
Succeeded by | Frank Pace |
Personal details | |
Born | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | May 30, 1909
Died | November 26, 1982 (aged 73) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Jane Boyden Craige Nancy Maguire Beebe |
Children | 4, including Burton and Boyden |
Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) Yale University (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1942–1945 |
Rank | Captain |
Gordon Gray (May 30, 1909 – November 26, 1982) was an American attorney and government official during the administrations of
Biography
Family
Gordon Gray was born in
His son,
Education
Gordon Gray attended Woodberry Forest School for high school. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1930, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Beta chapter) & the secretive, Order of Gimghoul. He earned his law degree from Yale Law School in 1933 and practiced law for two years in New York City before returning to Winston-Salem. UNC presented Gray with an honorary law degree in 1949.
Public career
Gray began his public life as a lawyer. In 1937, he bought the Piedmont Publishing Company, owner of the Winston-Salem Journal, The Twin City Sentinel, and WSJS radio. He added WSJS-FM in 1947 and WSJS-TV in 1953. He sold the newspapers in 1968, but formed Triangle Broadcasting to hold onto WSJS-AM-FM-TV. He also bought the local cable franchise for Winston-Salem, a move that forced him to sell off the broadcasting outlets in 1972.
He served in the
In 1954 Gray chaired a
Gray shocked proponents of public education in North Carolina when he said, in a November 1954 Founder's Day speech at Guilford College, that "if I had to make a choice between a complete system of publicly supported higher education or a complete system of private higher education, I would choose the latter as a greater safeguard of the things for which we live."[8] Less than a year later, Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson named Gray assistant secretary for international security affairs and Gray's brief career in academia was ended.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Gray to head the
From 1962 to 1963, Gray was head of the Federal City Council, a group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, D.C.[9][10]
Gray was also publisher of the Winston-Salem Journal, chairman of the board of Piedmont Publishing Company, and chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Death
Gray died on November 26, 1982, of cancer in his home in Washington, D.C. He was buried at Salem Cemetery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[11]
In media
Tony Goldwyn portrays Gordon in the 2023 epic biopic film Oppenheimer.
References
- ^ Lyons Gray picked for top state revenue job Winston-Salem Journal (12-21-2012). Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ ZSR Library-Gray Family Antique Photo Album
- ISBN 9781615780112.
- ^ "Staff Member and Office Files: Psychological Strategy Board Files". Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.
- JSTOR 23523398.
- ISBN 9780375412028. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ https://discover.lanl.gov/news/1220-oppenheimer-security-clearance/
- ^ quoted in Crow, p. 188
- ^ Hailey, Albon B. (January 9, 1962). "Gray Elected to Federal Council Post". The Washington Post. p. A1
- ^ Smith, J.Y. (November 27, 1982). "Gordon Gray, Former Secretary Of U.S. Army, Dies at Age 73". The Washington Post. p. B4.
- ^ "Gray, Gordon | NCpedia".
External links
- Inventory of the Office of President of the University of North Carolina (System): Gordon Gray Records, 1950-1955, in the University Archives, UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Papers of Gordon Gray, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library Archived 2014-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Records of the White House Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- Undersecretary of the Army biography
- Gordan Gray biography in Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army, United States Army Center of Military History.
- The American Presidency Project
- Gordon Gray Photograph Collection United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania