Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971

Dean Acheson, U.S. Secretary of State, born Dean Gooderham Acheso, in Middletown, Connecticut, on April 11, 1893. After being educated at Yale University (1912-1915) and Harvard Law School (1915-18) he became private secretary to the Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis from 1919 to 1921. A supporter of the Democratic Party, Acheson worked for a law firm in Washington, D.C., before President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Under Secretary of the Treasury in 1933. During World War II (1941), Acheson served as Assistant Secretary in the Department of State. In 1945 Harry S. Truman selected Acheson as his Under Secretary of State. Over the next two years, Acheson played a role in devising both the Truman Doctrine and the European Recovery Program (ERP), developed a strong personal relationship, with the President often consulting Acheson in the area of foreign policy. Later, Acheson accepted an appointment to the newly created Commission on the Reorganization of the Executive Branch, better known as the Hoover Commission. He was one of four appointments made by Truman to the twelve-member bipartisan commission. He became Truman's Secretary of State in 1949 and served in that position until 1953. Dean Acheson died in Sandy Spring, Maryland, on October 12, 1971.