James Hopkins Smith Jr. (December 15, 1909 – November 24, 1982) was

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) was a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) initially reported to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later to the Under Secretary of the ...

from 1953 to 1956 and then was head of the United States Agency for International Development from 1957 to 1959.

Biography

Smith was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on December 15, 1909. His mother was the first female member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in f ...

. He was educated at the

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliat ...

and then at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, receiving a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1931. In December 1927, Smith learned how to fly a

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

under the instruction of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

, recently returned from his

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing ai ...

. Upon graduating from college, Smith enrolled in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

, and the next year attended

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...

, receiving a law degree in 1932, although he never went on to practice law. In 1933, Smith enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and was a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-base ...

from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, he joined

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

as manager of PanAm's operations in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In 1943, he returned to active service; he served in the Navy for another ten years, retiring in 1953, having attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. During this period, Smith acquired the North Star Ranch outside

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mo ...

. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the

sailing competitions Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen course ...

, where he won a gold medal in the '' 6 metre class'' with the boat ''Uanoria''.James Smith
''olympedia.org'' (Retrieved on August 18, 2020) In 1953,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

named Smith

and Smith held this office from July 23, 1953 until June 20, 1956. In 1954, Smith publicly admitted that the Navy had wrongly suspended

Abraham Chasanow Abraham Chasanow (December 1, 1910 – June 11, 1989) was a United States government employee who was suspended from employment in July 1953, during the McCarthy era, on the grounds that he was a security risk. He was later reinstated. Career ...

as a security risk in July 1953 and issued Chasanow a public apology for the "grave injustice" perpetrated on Chasanow, and vowing to overhaul security procedures. After resigning in 1956, Smith moved to his

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most oft ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

to pursue life as a rancher, but the next year President Eisenhower asked him to head the United States Agency for International Development and he returned to Washington, D. C. in that capacity until his resignation in 1959. Smith supported a strong

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. ...

program, arguing to critics in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

that the ultimate goal of foreign aid must be not to win friends for the United States, but to allow poorer countries to become totally free of foreign domination. After a two-year battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

, Smith died at a hospital in

La Jolla, San Diego, California LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

on November 24, 1982. He was survived by his wife, Diane; a son, Morgan, and three daughters, Joy, Dinah and Sandra.

References

Sources

* Kathleen Teltsch, "James H. Smith Jr.; Led U.S. Aid Agency," ''The New York Times'', Nov. 25, 1982.
James Smith papers at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
*

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James H., Jr. 1909 births 1982 deaths United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy Harvard University alumni Groton School alumni American male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1948 Summer Olympics – 6 Metre Olympic gold medalists for the United States in sailing Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Deaths from cancer in California