Robert Thomas Murphy (1915-1996) was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from LaSalle Academy in Providence and received his A.B. from Providence College in 1936. He received his LL.B. from Georgetown University Law School in 1940 and engaged in private law practice in Providence and Washington, D.C. from 1939 to 1956. In 1944 he served as chief counsel to the United States Senate Campaign Expenditures Committee. He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1946 and in 1952 he was chosen as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Appeal Board in the review of maritime security cases. In 1956 he was chosen as Special Counsel to the United States Senate Commerce Committee and Counsel to the Senate Aviation Subcommittee. Murphy then participated in the drafting of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, the Federal Airport Act, and other aeronautical statutes including extensive analyses and reviews of the activities of the executive and regulatory agencies for air safety, air transportation, and related economic issues. On March 15, 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed Murphy as Vice Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a title he held each consecutive year by reappointment from Presidents Kennedy and Johnson ending in September 1969. Murphys second term as a Board Member expired on December 31, 1972. He continued to participate in CAB activities as a Board Member until resigning on October 15, 1973. During his career as a CAB Governor and Member Murphy was involved in more than fifty-five bilateral aviation negotiations, twenty-five of which were with foreign governments. He served as the U.S. representative to the Conference of International Civil Aviation Organization (IACO) in Buenos Aires in September 1968 and as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners from 1969 to 1972. Murphy was also a member of the Association of Former Aides and an officer of the St. Thomas More Society of America.
From the description of Murphy, Robert T. (Robert Thomas), 1915-1996 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10570624
