Dillon Anderson (July 14, 1906 – January 28, 1974) was an official in the

federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

during the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victor ...

(1953–61). He served as the 2nd National Security Advisor from April 2, 1955, to September 1, 1956. He also was a member of the Draper Committee.

Biography

Anderson was born on July 14, 1906, in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

, the son of Joseph A. and Bessie Dillon. After attending

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, Anderson received his B.S. from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

(1927) and his LL.B. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

(1929). He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1942–1945), and earned the

Army Commendation Ribbon The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

and

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

. He worked on

lend-lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

material and military government planning, attaining the rank of colonel. Anderson in 1940 was made partner in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, law firm of

Baker Botts Baker Botts L.L.P. is an American law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, at One Shell Plaza. It has approximately 725 lawyers and primarily handles matters involving technology and energy companies. It is the second-oldest law firm west of the ...

, before becoming National Security Advisor, Anderson was an official at the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

from 1953 to 1955. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1959. Mr. Anderson resigned his post as special assistant in August 1956, to return to his law practice. In 1958, he was elected chairman of the Texas National Bank. He was a director of Westinghouse Electric Corporation and of the Monsanto Chemical Corporation, and a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, of the Brookings Institution and of the Schlumberger Foundation. He died on January 28, 1974, in

External links

Records of the White House Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Dillon 1906 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Military personnel from Texas People associated with Baker Botts People from McKinney, Texas Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army personnel of World War II United States national security advisors University of Oklahoma alumni Yale Law School alumni