Robert B. Anderson | |
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56th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
In office July 29, 1957 – January 20, 1961 |
|
President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | George M. Humphrey |
Succeeded by | C. Douglas Dillon |
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
In office May 3, 1954 – August 4, 1955 |
|
President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Roger M. Kyes |
Succeeded by | Donald A. Quarles |
4th United States Secretary of the Navy | |
In office February 4, 1953 – March 3, 1954 |
|
President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Dan A. Kimball |
Succeeded by | Charles S. Thomas |
Personal details | |
Born |
Robert Bernard Anderson June 4, 1910 Burleson, Texas, U.S. |
Died | August 14, 1989 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
(aged 79)
Resting place | Rose Hill Cemetery, Cleburne, Texas, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Ollie Rawlins Anderson (m. 1935 – 1987, her death) |
Children | Gerald Lee Anderson James Richard Anderson |
Alma mater | University of Texas |
Religion | Methodist [1] |
Signature |
Robert Bernard Anderson (June 4, 1910 – August 14, 1989) was an American administrator and businessman. He served as the Secretary of the Navy between February 1953 and March 1954. He also served as the Secretary of the Treasury from 1957 until 1961, and was one of President Eisenhower's closest confidants.
Anderson was born in Burleson, Texas on June 4, 1910, to Robert Lee Anderson and his wife Elizabeth Haskew "Lizzy" Anderson. He was a high school teacher prior to entering the University of Texas Law School, from which he graduated in 1932. He thereafter engaged in political, governmental, law and business activities in the state of Texas.
Upon leaving the University of Texas School of Law in 1932, Anderson soon became an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas where he worked in 1933-1934. By 1934, he moved onward to become a State of Texas Tax Commissioner.
By 1939-1940, Anderson pursued opportunities within the private sector; he and two other partners purchased the City of Austin-based KTBC radio station from the Texas Broadcasting Company. Not able to increase KTBC's broadcasting power from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the three partners then sold KTBC to Lady Bird Johnson in January–February 1943; she was the wife of U.S. Representative - and future Senator and U.S. President - Lyndon B. Johnson.
Anderson married Ollie Mae Rawlins on April 10, 1935. The couple had two sons, Gerald Lee and James Richard. The Anderson family later moved to Cleburne, Texas. Ollie Anderson died in Greenwich, Connecticut of Alzheimer disease on May 31, 1987.