Stuart Symington | |
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United States Senator from Missouri |
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In office January 3, 1953 – December 27, 1976 |
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Preceded by | James P. Kem |
Succeeded by | John Danforth |
1st United States Secretary of the Air Force | |
In office September 18, 1947 – April 24, 1950 |
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President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Thomas K. Finletter |
Personal details | |
Born |
William Stuart Symington, Jr. June 26, 1901 Amherst, Massachusetts |
Died | December 14, 1988 New Canaan, Connecticut |
(aged 87)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Evelyn Wadsworth Symington |
Profession | Business executive |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1918–1919 |
Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Unit | 84th Division |
Battles/wars | World War I |
William Stuart Symington, Jr. (/ˈsaɪmɪŋtən/; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a Democratic United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.
Symington was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of Emily Haxall (née Harrison) and William Stuart Symington, Sr. His father, who received a Ph.D in French literature, was a romance languages professor at Stanford and Amherst College before pursuing a law career and becoming a federal judge in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother, a direct descendant of the influential colonist and presidential ancestor Benjamin Harrison, came from a wealthy family in Virginia. Symington grew up in Baltimore, and was the oldest of his five brothers and sisters. Symington attended Roland Park Public School and the Gilman School, a private all-male preparatory school in Baltimore's Roland Park neighborhood. He graduated from Baltimore City College in 1918, and at the age of 17, Symington enlisted in the United States Army as a private first class during World War I.