Zimmerman, William, 1890-1967

Born in Chicago, Ill. In 1933 appointed Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, BIA by President Roosevelt. In 1950 transferred to the Bureau of Land Management. After retiring served as the head of the Washington branch of the Association on American Indian Affairs, also involved with the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society.

William Zimmerman at Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, 1955. Part of the William Zimmerman, Jr. Pictorial Collection, PICT 000-517-0001-0008 SC (Box 6, Folder 1).

William Zimmerman Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 2, 1890. At the age of twenty, he received an A.B. degree from Harvard University. After graduation, he remained to enroll in the Harvard Business School for another year. As his later achievements indicate, his university studies instilled in him an appreciation for learning.

During his lifetime, Zimmerman held many diversified positions before his tenure with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), including: writer and editor of the Children's Encyclopedia (1911-1917, & 1919), an executive for the Columbia Conserve Company, and a stock and bond salesman with Stone & Webster. However, he is best remembered as the Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, BIA. He was appointed by President Roosevelt in 1933, during the New Deal.

Zimmerman remained in government service for the next 22 years. Not all of those years were spent with the BIA; he was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in May of 1950.

His many years as the Assistant Commissioner were beneficial to the interests of both the BIA and Native Americans alike. During the period of 1947 to 1950, he was acting Commissioner due to then Commissioner William A. Brophy's illness and later resignation.

Zimmerman was a highly esteemed government servant who exhibited a sincere concern for Native Americans. Consequently, he was a trusted spokesman for Native Americans.

Before his death on September 26, 1967, Zimmerman devoted his post-governmental service time to his position as head of the Washington branch of the highly influential Association on American Indian Affairs. Moreover, in keeping with his concern for natural resource management, he was involved with both the Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society. He remained faithful to the areas to which he had given so much of his time and energy during his life in government office.