Robert Elliott Freer (January 30, 1896 – January 6, 1963) was an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

attorney who served as chair of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

from January 1, 1939, to December 31, 1939, again from January 1, 1944, to December 31, 1944, and a third time from January 1, 1948, to December 31, 1948.

Early life and education

Freer was born in

Madisonville, Cincinnati Madisonville is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1809 and annexed in 1911, it is located in the northeastern part of the city. The population was 17,898 at the 2020 census. History Madisonville was established in ...

. He received an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

in 1917. He received an

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from the

Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

in 1929.

Career

Freer entered the practice of law in Cincinnati in 1917. 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 ...

in the 324th Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1925, he became an attorney with the Bureau of Valuation within the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

.In 1935, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

appointed him as a Republican member of the FTC. He was reappointed to the FTC by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948, but resigned later that year to return to the practice of law. In 1960, he returned to government service as a hearing examiner for the Federal Power Commission

Honors

In 1928, Freer was elected to the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

by his alma mater, the

Personal life and death

Freer married three times. On October 28, 1919, he married Hazel Louise Davis (1898–1975) in

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

. On April 11, 1925, he married Olive Roberts (1898–1973) in

Marion County, Ohio Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,359. Its county seat is Marion. The county was erected by the state of Ohio on February 20, 1820 and later reorganized in 1824. It is ...

. Finally, on September 7, 1939, he married Alice Elizabeth Barry (1905–1979) in

McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania McConnellsburg is a borough and the county seat of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,150 at the 2020 census. History The McConnellsburg Historic District was recognized by the United States Department of the Int ...

. Her father, Edward P. Barry, had been Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts; she had earned a law degree from the Portia Law School in Boston in 1933. Freer adopted her two daughters and one son from her prior marriage to Harold Wadsworth Sullivan (1896–1969), former Assistant Attorney General for Massachusetts. He and Alice then had a son. Freer died of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

at the age of 66, and was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Bibliography

Notes

References

* ; . * * * * . * ; ; . * ; . * 1896 births 1963 deaths Lawyers from Cincinnati University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Washington College of Law alumni Federal Trade Commission personnel Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States {{US-gov-bio-stub