Robert Blake Watson (December 14, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an administrator at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

who served as the

dean of students Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...

from 1958 to 1970 and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

from 1970 to 1978.

Early life

Watson was born in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

on December 14, 1913, to Edward A. and Irene J. (Brown) Watson. He grew up in Wellesley and graduated from St. Mark's School. He attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, where he lettered in football and crew. He graduated in 1937 and worked for

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mar ...

until 1940, when he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. 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 ...

he served as the executive officer on the ''

USS Leary USS ''Leary'' may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most power ...

''. He was one of 220 men on board the ''Leary'' when it was sunk on December 24, 1943. After giving his life jacket to another crew member, Watson clung to a piece of wood for five hours in the waters of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

until another warship rescued him and the other 56 survivors. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Harvard

Watson returned to Harvard in 1946 as associate dean and a member of the New Fund Council. He worked primarily on extra-curricular activities. He served as acting dean of the college in 1957 while Delmar Leighton on sabbatical. In 1958, Watson was appointed dean of students. In this role, Watson was in charge of student housing, activities, and organizations. The 1969–1970 academic year saw a number of protests against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He was forcibly removed from his office by students four times and appeared at the trials of 27 students. Due to the unrest, Watson wanted to step down and allow a younger person to take over as dean. On January 12, 1970, it was announced that Watson would succeed Adolph Samborski as Harvard's athletic director on August 31, 1970. Watson had previously served as acting athletic director while

Thomas Bolles Thomas D. Bolles (September 25, 1902 – December 17, 1978) was an American coach and administrator for Harvard University. He served as the coach of the Harvard Crimson varsity crew from 1936 to 1951 and was the school's athletic director from 1 ...

was on sabbatical from 1960 to 1961 and had been the chairman of the faculty committee on athletic sports since 1963. He was succeeded as dean of students by Archie Epps, who was the first African American to hold the job. As athletic director, Watson oversaw the merger of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

's athletic programs into the Harvard athletic department, began work on a multimillion-dollar renovation of the school's athletic facilities, and hired coaches

Joe Restic Joseph William Restic (July 21, 1926 – December 8, 2011) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1968 to 1970 and as the head footbal ...

Satch Sanders Thomas Ernest "Satch" Sanders (born November 8, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as a power forward (basketball), power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National B ...

, and Bill Cleary. He retired in 1978.

Personal life

On January 31, 1943, Watson married figure skater Polly Blodgett at the Portland Country Club. The best man was Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., Watson's classmate at Harvard and his shipmate in the Navy. Watson and Blodgett had five children. Watson died on August 12, 2000, at his home in

Bourne, Massachusetts Bourne ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,452 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Bourne, please see the articles ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Robert B. 1913 births 2000 deaths Harvard College alumni Harvard Crimson athletic directors Harvard Crimson football players Harvard Crimson rowers Harvard University administrators People from Bourne, Massachusetts People from Wellesley, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War II