Conlon, James A., 1921-2000

James A. Conlon was born on February 21, 1921 in New York City, New York. He was raised in New York, and went on to study at George Washington University, 1948-1952. He joined the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1942 as an apprentice plate printer and, after military service in World War II, served in increasingly higher positions of responsibility, including head of the Quality Control Branch; Assistant Chief and later Chief of the Office of Currency and Stamp Manufacturing; Assistant Director of the Bureau and then Deputy Director. He was appointed Director of the Bureau in 1967. During Conlon's decade-long tenure as Director (1967-1977), improvements were made in Bureau production methods such as the procurement of high-speed, sheet-fed currency presses; installation of prototype currency overprinting and processing equipment; and the acquisition of advanced gravure, intaglio, and gravure/intaglio combination presses for printing multicolored postage stamps. He entered the private sector upon retirement from government service in 1977. Conlon died on April 6, 2000.