Herbert Brownell, Jr.
|
|
Herbert Brownell, Jr. (February 20, 1904 - May 1, 1996) was the Attorney General of the United States in President Eisenhower's cabinet from 1952 to 1957.
Brownell, one of the seven children of Herbert and May Miller Brownell, was born in Peru, Nebraska. His father was a professor at the University of Nebraska, Teachers College in education and physical sciences as well as an author. His brother, Samuel Brownell, became U.S. Commissioner of Education. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Nebraska in 1924, he attended Yale Law School, earning his law in 1927.
Brownell was admitted to the bar in New York, and began his practice in New York City. In February of 1929 he joined the law firm of Lord, Day, and Lord in New York, and except for periods of public service remained with them until his retirement in 1989. He married Doris McCarter on June 16, 1934. They had a son, Thomas, and remained together until she died on June 12, 1979. He married again in 1987 to the former Mrs. Marion Taylor, but the couple separated in December of 1989.
Besides his law practice, Bownell had a long and active political career as a Republican. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1932, and served there from 1933 to 1937. In 1942 he was the campaign manager for Thomas E. Dewey's election as Governor of New York. He also managed Dewey's 1944 and 1948 campaigns for president. From 1944 to 1946 he was Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
He was instrumental in convincing General Dwight D. Eisenhower to give up his Army service to run for President of the United States, and worked in Eisenhower's 1952 campaign. Eisenhower appointed him as Attorney General on January 21, 1953 and he served until November 8, 1957. Early in his term, he was involved in several landmark civil rights cases, including Brown v. Board of Education. He later served as the United States representative to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and in 1972-1974 as a special U.S Ambassador to Mexico for negotiations over the Colorado River.
In addition to many honors and other civic roles, Brownell was President of the New York City Bar Association in 1982. From 1986 to 1989 he served on the Commission for the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. He died of cancer in New York City on May 1, 1996.
Further reading
- Herbert Brownell and John P. Burke; Advising Ike: The Memoirs of Attorney General Herbert Brownell; 1993, University of Kansas Press; ISBN 0700605908.
| Preceded by: James P. McGranery | United States Attorney General 1953–1957 | Succeeded by: William P. Rogers |