Roger Putnam
Roger Putnam | |
---|---|
Boston, Massachusetts | |
Died | November 24, 1972 (aged 78) |
Alma mater | Noble and Greenough School in Boston; Harvard University (1915 degree in math) |
Occupations |
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Known for | Sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory for 40 years |
Board member of |
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Spouse | Caroline Jenkins |
Children | Caroline, Roger Jr., William, Anna, Mary, and Michael |
Parent | William Lowell Putnam II |
Awards | Honorary degrees from Boston College (1949), Saint Anselm College (1952), and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (1970) |
Roger Lowell Putnam (December 19, 1893 – November 24, 1972) was an American politician and businessman. A member of the prominent Lowell family of Boston, he served as Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1937 until 1943, and as director of the Economic Stabilization Administration from 1951 until 1952. During his short tenure in federal office, the nation's steelworkers struck—leading United States President Harry S. Truman to seize the nation's steel mills.
For 40 years, Putnam was also the sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory. During that time, he purchased three new telescopes for the observatory and was instrumental in pushing Lowell astronomers to search for Percival Lowell's theoretical "Planet X"—which led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930.[1][2]
Early life and education
Roger Lowell Putnam was born on December 19, 1893, in Boston. He was the son of
Roger Putnam graduated from the Noble and Greenough School in Boston, and then attended Harvard University. He became acquainted with Leverett Saltonstall while at Harvard, joined the Hasty Pudding Club and the Fly Club, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics in 1915.[4][5]
He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1916 and undertook graduate studies in mechanical engineering. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served on the USS|Mississippi|BB-41|6 and was promoted to lieutenant, j.g.[3][5][6]
After leaving military service, Putnam married the former Caroline Jenkins on October 9, 1919. The couple had six children: Caroline, Roger Jr., William, Anna, Mary, and Michael.[3]
Putnam took a job working for a New London, Connecticut, shipbuilding company. He left that position after a short time to become a salesman for the Package Machinery Co. of West Springfield. He rose quickly within the company's ranks, becoming president in just eight years. During the Great Depression, Putnam used his personal wealth to develop new machinery—keeping employment high. He also instituted profit sharing, gave his employees life insurance and instituted a bonus plan.[3] Putnam was named chairman of the board at Package Machinery in 1942, where he remained until 1948.[4][6]
Role in discovering Pluto
Through his uncle, Percival Lowell, and his own father, Roger Putnam gained a love of astronomy and was an amateur astronomer for most of his life.[3]
Percival Lowell died in 1916. He named Harcourt Amory (his cousin, college roommate and best friend) and his wife, Constance Lowell, executors of his estate. Although Constance Lowell received a $150,000 lump-sum payment, a generous yearly income, and her husband's personal property (including their opulent Boston home), the Lowell Observatory received the bulk of Lowell's money. Amory, meanwhile, was also named the sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory. Constance Lowell felt the will was unfair and went to court to break it. After convincing Amory to resign as trustee, Constance Lowell also induced George Putnam (Roger's older brother) to decline the position. Constance Lowell then named Guy Lowell, Percival Lowell's third cousin, as trustee—believing she could dominate him. But Guy Lowell fought Constance's attempt to break the will. The lawsuit was settled in Guy Lowell's favor in 1925, but not before the estate had spent more than half its $2.3 million trust fund.[4]
The lawsuit left the observatory with few funds for research or for the purchase of new equipment.[2] Guy Lowell died in 1927, and the trusteeship of Lowell Observatory passed to Roger Putnam.[4]
Percival Lowell had predicted the existence of a "Planet X"—a possible ninth planet—in 1905, but his subsequent death in 1916 and Constance Lowell's lawsuit had largely mothballed the search for the celestial body. Putnam, however, was determined to find "Planet X."
The new 13-inch (330 mm) telescope was used by Clyde Tombaugh in the search for "Planet X." On February 18, 1930, Tombaugh discovered a new planet—which was named Pluto on May 1.[1]
Putnam's political and business interests lessened the amount of time he could devote to the Lowell Observatory in the 1930s and 1940s. The Observatory's three senior
As Putnam searched for a new director, he almost put the Lowell Observatory under the control of Harvard University.
Determined to continue the modernization program begun by Wilson, Putnam hired astronomer John Scoville Hall as director in 1958. Hall took advantage of the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 and the ensuing Sputnik crisis in the United States to seek greatly increased federal funding for the Observatory. Putnam used his extensive political connections to help Hall land lucrative federal contracts, which significantly improved the Observatory's finances. Hall also hired energetic, bright young astronomers and rebuilt the Observatory's reputation as a research institution.[2][4]
In 1961, Putnam managed to make an indirect contribution to the study of Mars. E. C. Slipher had taken an enormous number of photographs of Mars, but most of them remained unseen by others. Determined to restore the Observatory's prestige, Putnam badgered Slipher into making these images available. In 1962, Slipher's monumental work, A Photographic History of Mars (1905–1961), was published, marking a major advance in the planetary science of Mars.[2]
Putnam also played a major role in securing a new 42-inch (1,100 mm) telescope for the Observatory in 1961. Ohio Wesleyan University's Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, had a 42-inch (1,100 mm) cassegrain reflector telescope which was under-utilized due to poor viewing conditions and low elevation. Putnam led the negotiations which permanently moved the 42-inch (1,100 mm) telescope to Lowell Observatory's Anderson Mesa site (in Arizona). The telescope was operated by Lowell Observatory in partnership with the Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan, and purchased by Lowell in 1998.[2][4][7]
Putnam brought Perkins's 69-inch (1.8 m) telescope to the Arizona observatory as well. The Observatory's existing 69-inch (1.8 m) telescope had cracked in 1964 while staff attempted to update its optical system. The Perkins mirror did not stay at Lowell for long, returning to Perkins' control in 1969. The Lowell Observatory retained the mount, however. Hall won Putnam's approval to rebuild the mount as a 72-inch (1.8 m) telescope, and a new, improved Zerodur mirror built and installed (it is still called the "Perkins telescope", however).[2][4][7]
One of Putnam's last major contributions as trustee was the establishment of the Lowell Observatory's Planetary Research Center. In 1961, Putnam convinced NASA officials to fund a major planetary research initiative at the Lowell Observatory.[8] In 1965, NASA agreed to build the Planetary Research Center at Lowell to house the rapidly growing project.[4][9]
Roger Putnam retired as trustee of the Lowell Observatory in 1967. His youngest son, the classicist Dr. Michael C. J. Putnam, succeeded him.[4]
Political career
A Republican early in life, Putnam voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. He switched parties and remained a Democrat for the rest of his life.[3][6]
Putnam became increasingly active in politics through his business ventures. In 1933, he sat on a commission which helped draft Massachusetts' first
Federal service
President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Putnam to be deputy director of the Office of Contract Settlement of 1944. Established by the Contract Settlement Act (58 Stat. 651; July 1, 1944) and part of the Office of War Mobilization, Putnam helped settle claims arising from terminated war contracts during World War II.[12] Putnam served in that capacity until the office was abolished by executive order 9809 on December 12, 1946.[3][4]
In 1951, President Harry Truman appointed Putnam administrator of the
The steel seizure crisis
Putnam faced an immediate crisis as head of the ESA. The collective bargaining agreement between the
Putnam worked feverishly for six weeks to settle the steel talks. He ordered his subordinates at OPS and WSB to meet with the union and manufacturers and to call meetings of both sides. He also coordinated settlement efforts with
The steel crisis issue was now out of Putnam's hands. In Executive Order 10233, President Truman had expanded the WSB's powers in April 1951. To ease the threat of strikes and make the Board's wage stabilization efforts easier, the Board was now authorized to make recommendations on economic and non-economic issues in collective bargaining disputes—a power it had previously lacked. The Board could not, however, force parties in a labor dispute to accept its findings. When making recommendations, the Board was authorized to report only to the president—bypassing Putnam and his superior,
While the Wage Stabilization Board conducted its hearings, Putnam was forced to replace the administrator of OPS. Michael DiSalle, the OPS administrator, had announced his resignation in the fall in order to run for the United States Senate. Putnam and Truman agreed to replace DiSalle with Ellis Arnall, a former governor of Georgia.[18]
The issues involved in the steel wage case were so complex that the Board extended its deadline for issuing a decision by 30 days. The union also agreed to put off its strike until the Board acted.[19] During this time, Putnam met repeatedly with White House staff to keep them abreast of developments at the Board and price negotiations between OPS and steel manufacturers.[6]
When the Board issued its recommendations on March 20, 1952, it triggered a crisis which led to seizure of the nation's steel mills. The decision to give the workers a 26 cent-an-hour raise (which included bringing their pensions to parity with workers in other industries) was largely seen as an overly-generous award as well as a union victory. Although he had been bypassed by the procedures of E.O. 10233, Wilson decided to intervene in the dispute to avoid having the terms of the recommendation accepted. He met with Putnam and Arnall on March 21 and informed them he would be involved in the steel industry labor dispute personally. Wilson then traveled to
As the case wound its way through the courts, Putnam attempted to restart negotiations and avoid a strike. On April 23, he personally ordered a $3-per-ton increase in the price of steel. Although the award was higher than the $2.75-per-ton price increase permitted by law, it was lower than the $4.50-per-ton increase last offered to the steelmakers by Arnall 10 days earlier and far lower than the $12-per-ton increase the steelmakers were publicly claiming was needed to make up for the WSB's wage recommendation.[6][20]
An angry Congress began investigating the Truman administration's wage and price stabilization program. Putnam engaged in a public war of words with Wilson after Wilson testified that authority to hear labor disputes should be taken away from ESA, WSB and other stabilization agencies.[21]
On June 2, 1952, the
Putnam was outraged by the steel manufacturers' behavior during the steel crisis. He felt the steelmakers had held "a loaded gun poised at the Government's head" and that the employers' publicly stated reasons for forcing the union on strike were "hollow" and pretentious.
- Some day, I hope we shall know the real motives behind the mysterious conduct of the steel industry in this tragic incident. Some day, perhaps we will know why this strike was dragged out for 53 days only to be settled on substantially the same wage and price terms which the companies could have had nearly four months ago.[23]
Remaining tenure at ESA
The steelworkers' strike made Putnam work much harder to maintain the Truman administration's wage and price stabilization program.[24] Putnam was forced to give aluminum workers a 21.4 cents an hour wage increase just days later in order to avoid a strike. But he later imposed new wage restrictions on nine large classes of small businesses and strict limitations on the kind of Christmas gifts employers could give to workers in order to avoid a spike in inflation.[25]
Congress stripped the WSB of its labor dispute adjudication powers in the wake of the steel seizure crisis. Putnam struggled to keep union representatives on the new board, and to find industry representatives willing to serve. He succeeded in fully staffing the Board, but the wage stabilization program continued to disintegrate.[26]
A revolving door at the top of the ESA and its key agencies worsened the situation. Nathan Feinsinger, the chairman of the WSB, resigned in July 1952. Putnam appointed Archibald Cox as his replacement in August.[27] Ellis Arnall resigned in early August, and Putnam appointed Tighe Woods, chairman of the federal rent stabilization agency, as his successor.[28]
A second labor wage dispute crisis hit in October 1952.
The coal pay dispute and the increasingly untenable position of the administration's wage and price control program led Putnam to resign as ESA administrator on November 6, 1952. Truman named DiSalle his successor until Eisenhower named a permanent replacement or Congress failed to renew the Defense Production Act.[30] During his last months in office, Putnam continually defended the wage and price control program as necessary for the national welfare while conceding that neither Congress nor the next president (whether Truman or Eisenhower) would be likely to retain it.[31]
Later life
After leaving federal service, Putnam returned to his position as chairman of Package Machinery. In 1953, Putnam became president of
Putnam believed higher education was the key to social uplift and the country's economic problems. Beginning in 1958, he served on the Massachusetts Board of Regional Community Colleges. In 1966, he served on the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.[4][32] Putnam also received honorary degrees from Boston College (1949), Saint Anselm College (1952), and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (1970).[4]
Death
Putnam died of a
Legacy
- Roger L Putnam Vocational-Technical High School in Springfield, Mass., is named for him.[1] Archived 2007-06-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Alumni House, the home of the Boston College Alumni Association, was renamed in 1967 in honor of Putnam, a benefactor of the college.[33]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Hoyt, Planets X and Pluto, 1980.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tenn, "Lowell Observatory Enters the Twentieth Century—In the 1950s," Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "New Economic Stabilizer", Time, December 10, 1951
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Putnam, A Yankee Image: The Life and Times of Roger Lowell Putnam, 1991
- ^ a b "Blue Bloods v. Blue", Time, September 28, 1942.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Marcus, Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limits of Presidential Power, 1977.
- ^ a b Oliver, "Perkins Telescope," Sky and Telescope, October 1981
- ^ The terms of Percival Lowell's will indicated that planetary research should form the Observatory's primary mission.
- ^ The Planetary Research Center was renamed the Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies after John Hendricks and his family donated $5 million to the Lowell Observatory in 2007. "Hendricks Family Boosts Discovery Channel Telescope With Additional $5 Million Contribution", Press release, Lowell Observatory, March 19, 2007
- ^ Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1942. 1942.
- ^ Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1946. 1946.
- ^ Murray, "Contract Settlement Act of 1944", Law and Contemporary Problems, Spring, 1944.
- ^ Pierpaoli, "Truman's Other War: The Battle for the American Homefront, 1950–1953", Magazine of History, Spring 2000; Vawter, Industrial Mobilization: The Relevant History, 2002
- ^ Whitney, "Johnston Will Quit Stabilization Post", New York Times, September 3, 1951.
- ^ Lawrence, "New Englander Is Designated Economic Stabilization Head", New York Times, November 27, 1951; "Putnam Installed in Stabilizer Post", New York Times, November 30, 1951
- ^ Egan, "Putnam Takes Over ESA As Its Problems Mount", New York Times, December 2, 1951; "Putnam Rules Out A Steel Price Rise Based On Pay Lift", New York Times, December 15, 1951; "Steel Is Held Able to Absorb Pay Rise," United Press International, January 26, 1952.
- ^ Raskin, "U.S. Steel Mediation Deadlocked", New York Times, December 21, 1951; Raskin, "Steel Union to Put Strike Off 45 Days on Truman Appeal", New York Times, January 4, 1952
- ^ Egan, "Arnall Appointed DiSalle Successor", New York Times, February 8, 1952.
- ^ Raskin, "Steel Union Strike Is Again Postponed to Give Board Time", New York Times, February 22, 1952
- ^ Loftus, "Steel Price Ceiling Is Set $3 Higher By Putnam Order", New York Times, April 24, 1952.
- ^ Loftus, "Wilson Asks Labor Disputes Be Taken From Wage Board", New York Times, May 7, 1952; Egan, "Putnam Disputes Wilson Testimony", New York Times, May 8, 1952
- ^ Raskin, "Mill Opening Sped", New York Times, July 25, 1952
- ^ Quoted in Marcus, Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limits of Presidential Power, 1977, p. 253. Emphasis in original.
- ^ "U.S. Out to Isolate Steel Price Rise", New York Times, July 28, 1952.
- ^ "Aluminum Strike of 15,000 Averted", New York Times, July 29, 1952; Egan, "Putnam Discounts Inflation Spiral In Steel Price Rise", New York Times, August 6, 1952; "Wage Curbs Put on Small Concerns," Associated Press, July 31, 1952; "Putnam Lists Rules for Christmas Gifts", New York Times, November 1, 1952
- ^ "9 of New Pay Board Take Oath of Office," United Press International, August 6, 1952; Raskin, "New Labor Board Tackles Hard Job", New York Times, August 10, 1952
- ^ "Economic Stabilizer and New Wage Board Chairman", Associated Press, August 1, 1952.
- ^ "Arnall Is Reported Set to Resign Today", New York Times, August 6, 1952; Belair, "Woods Appointed Price Stabilizer", New York Times, August 27, 1952
- ^ Dubofsky and Van Tine, John L. Lewis: A Biography, 1992; Cochran, Harry Truman and the Crisis Presidency, 1973; Loftus, "Wage Board Cuts Coal Pay Rise 40C to Bar New Round", New York Times, October 19, 1952; Egan, "Putnam Studying Coal Pay Petition", New York Times, October 26, 1952; Loftus, "Miners End Strike on Order of Lewis", New York Times, October 28, 1952; Egan, "Truman Approves Miners' $1.90 Rise, Overruling Board", New York Times, December 4, 1952; Leviero, "Putnam Holds Hope of Saving Pay Board", New York Times, December 9, 1952; Egan, "President Unable to Fill Pay Board As Industry Balks", New York Times, December 14, 1952
- ^ Egan, "Putnam Retiring From Federal Job", New York Times, November 7, 1952; Egan, "DiSalle Appointed Stabilization Head", New York Times, December 17, 1952.
- ^ "E.S.A. Chief Sees Controls Ending," New York Times, August 11, 1952; "Wage Curbs Are Eased", New York Times, October 16, 1952; "Putnam Advocates Stand-By Control", Associated Press, October 13, 1952; "Talk of Decontrol Opposed By Putnam", New York Times, November 29, 1952; "Putnam Backs Controls", New York Times, December 20, 1952.
- ^ a b "Roger L. Putnam, 78, Truman Aide, Dead," Associated Press, November 25, 1972
- ^ "Campus Guide. Alumni House", Boston College, January 2, 2003.
References
- "Aluminum Strike of 15,000 Averted" New York Times July 29, 1952.
- "Arnall Is Reported Set to Resign Today" New York Times August 6, 1952.
- Belair, Jr., Felix. "Woods Appointed Price Stabilizer" New York Times August 27, 1952.
- "Blue Bloods v. Blue" Time September 28, 1942.
- "Campus Guide. Alumni House." Boston College. January 2, 2003. Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Accessed July 18, 2007
- Cochran, Bert. Harry Truman and the Crisis Presidency. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1973 ISBN 0-308-10044-1
- Dubofsky, Warren and Van Tine, Warren. John L. Lewis: A Biography Reprint ed. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1992 ISBN 0-8129-0673-X
- "Economic Stabilizer and New Wage Board Chairman" Associated Press August 1, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Arnall Appointed DiSalle Successor" New York Times February 8, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "DiSalle Appointed Stabilization Head" New York Times December 17, 195.
- Egan, Charles E. "President Unable to Fill Pay Board As Industry Balks" New York Times December 14, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Putnam Discounts Inflation Spiral In Steel Price Rise" New York Times August 6, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Putnam Disputes Wilson Testimony" New York Times May 8, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Putnam Retiring From Federal Job" New York Times November 7, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Putnam Studying Coal Pay Petition" New York Times October 26, 1952
- Egan, Charles E. "Putnam Takes Over ESA As Its Problems Mount" New York Times December 2, 1951
- Egan, Charles E. "Truman Approves Miners' $1.90 Rise, Overruling Board" New York Times December 4, 1952
- "E.S.A. Chief Sees Controls Ending" New York Times August 11, 1952
- "Hendricks Family Boosts Discovery Channel Telescope With Additional $5 Million Contribution" Press release, Lowell Observatory. March 19, 2007
- Hoyt, William Graves. Planets X and Pluto. Phoenix, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1980. ISBN 0-8165-0684-1
- Lawrence, W.H. "New Englander Is Designated Economic Stabilization Head" New York Times November 27, 1951.
- Leviero, Anthony. "Putnam Holds Hope of Saving Pay Board" New York Times December 9, 1952.
- Loftus, Joseph A. "Miners End Strike on Order of Lewis" New York Times October 28, 1952.
- Loftus, Joseph A. "Steel Price Ceiling Is Set $3 Higher By Putnam Order" New York Times April 24, 1952.
- Loftus, Joseph A. "Wage Board Cuts Coal Pay Rise 40C to Bar New Round" New York Times October 19, 1952.
- Loftus, Joseph E. "Wilson Asks Labor Disputes Be Taken From Wage Board" New York Times May 7, 1952.
- Marcus, Maeva. Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limits of Presidential Power New York: Columbia University Press, 1977 ISBN 0-231-04126-8
- Murray, James E. "Contract Settlement Act of 1944" Law and Contemporary Problems 10:4 (Spring, 1944).
- "New Economic Stabilizer" Time December 10, 1951
- "9 of New Pay Board Take Oath of Office" United Press International August 6, 1952
- Oliver, R.C. "Perkins Telescope" Sky and Telescope 62:10 (October 1981).
- Pierpaoli Jr., Paul G. "Truman's Other War: The Battle for the American Homefront, 1950–1953" Magazine of History 14:3 (Spring 2000).
- Putnam, William Lowell. A Yankee Image: The Life and Times of Roger Lowell Putnam Phoenix, Ariz.: Lowell Observatory/Phoenix Publishing, 1991 ISBN 0-914659-55-3
- "Putnam Advocates Stand-By Control" Associated Press October 13, 1952
- "Putnam Backs Controls" New York Times December 20, 1952
- "Putnam Installed in Stabilizer Post" New York Times November 30, 1951
- "Putnam Lists Rules for Christmas Gifts" New York Times. November 1, 1952
- "Putnam Rules Out A Steel Price Rise Based On Pay Lift" New York Times December 15, 1951
- Raskin, A.H. "Mill Opening Sped" New York Times July 25, 1952
- Raskin, A.H. "New Labor Board Tackles Hard Job" New York Times August 10, 1952
- Raskin, A.H. "Steel Union Strike Is Again Postponed to Give Board Time" New York Times February 22, 1952
- Raskin, A.H. "Steel Union to Put Strike Off 45 Days on Truman Appeal" New York Times January 4, 1952
- Raskin, A.H. "U.S. Steel Mediation Deadlocked" New York Times December 21, 1951
- "Roger L. Putnam, 78, Truman Aide, Dead" Associated Press. November 25, 1972
- Slipher, E.C. A Photographic History of Mars (1905–1961) Flagstaff, Arizona: Lowell Observatory, 1962
- "Steel Is Held Able to Absorb Pay Ris." United Press International January 26, 1952
- "Talk of Decontrol Opposed By Putnam" New York Times November 29, 1952
- Tenn, Joseph S. "Lowell Observatory Enters the Twentieth Century -- In the 1950s" Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 10(1) (2007)
- "U.S. Out to Isolate Steel Price Rise" New York Times July 28, 1952
- Vawter, Roderick L. Industrial Mobilization: The Relevant History Park Forest, Ill.: University Press of the Pacific, 2002 ISBN 0-89875-746-0
- "Wage Curbs Are Eased" New York Times October 16, 1952
- "Wage Curbs Put on Small Concerns" Associated Press July 31, 1952
- Well, Martin. "Roger Putnam, Truman Economic Aide" Washington Post November 26, 1972
- Whitney, Robert F. "Johnston Will Quit Stabilization Post" New York Times September 3, 1951