C. Douglas Dillon | |
---|---|
57th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
In office January 21, 1961 – April 1, 1965 |
|
President |
John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
Preceded by | Robert B. Anderson |
Succeeded by | Henry H. Fowler |
21st Undersecretary of State | |
In office June 12, 1959 – January 4, 1961 |
|
President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Christian A. Herter |
Succeeded by | Chester Bowles |
Personal details | |
Born |
Clarence Douglass Dillon August 21, 1909 Geneva, Switzerland |
Died | January 10, 2003 New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, New York, U.S. |
(aged 93)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
Phyllis Chess Ellsworth (m. 1931; d. 1982) Susan Sage (m. 1983) |
Children | Phyllis Ellsworth Dillon Colins Joan Douglas Dillon, Duchess of Mouchy |
Parents |
Clarence Dillon Anne McEldin Douglass Dillon |
Education | Harvard University |
Profession | Financier, Businessman, Diplomat |
Religion | Episcopalianism |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Clarence Douglas Dillon (born Clarence Douglass Dillon; August 21, 1909 – January 10, 2003) was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France (1953–1957) and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury (1961–1965). He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Dillon was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of American parents, Anne McEldin (Douglass) and financier Clarence Dillon. Although Dillon grew up as a patrician, his paternal grandfather, Samuel Lapowski, was a poor Jewish immigrant from Poland. After leaving Poland, his grandfather settled in Texas after the American Civil War and married Dillon's Swedish-American grandmother. Dillon's father later changed his family name to Dillon, his grandmother's maiden name. Dillon's mother was descended from Grahams Lairds of Tamrawer Castle at Kilsyth, Stirling, Scotland.
Dillon began his education at Pine Lodge School in Lakehurst, Ocean County, New Jersey which he attended at the same time as the three Rockefeller brothers Nelson, Laurance, and John. He continued at the Groton School in Massachusetts, then at Harvard University, A.B. magna cum laude 1931 in American history and literature. Dillon earned a varsity letter for football his senior year.