Rolland A. Vandegrift (November 19, 1893 – December 17, 1949) was an American government official who served as

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

's Director of Finance (1931–1934) and Legislative Auditor (1941–1949).

Early life

Vandegrift was born on November 19, 1893, in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington, also known as Little Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia, is a city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. He graduated from Chico Senior High School in earned a B.A. from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

in 1917 and a M.A. from the same school in 1920. He also received a fellowship sponsored by the

Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) is a fraternity, fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation and documentation of the state's historic structures and places, the pla ...

which allowed him to perform archival research on the history of California in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

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 ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vandegrift 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 ...

Career

From 1920 to 1921 and from 1922 to 1923, Vandegrift was an assistant in history at the University of California. From 1923 to 1926 he was an assistant professor of history and government at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He then served as director of research for the California Taxpayers Association and in 1929 became the organization's secretary manager. In 1928 he founded Vandegrift Research Associates, which conducted governmental research in the California,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. From January 6, 1931, to August 30, 1934, Vandegrift was the director of finance for the state of California. In 1935 he joined Occidental Life Insurance Company as a general agent and branch manager. In 1941, Vandegrift returned to state government as California's first Legislative Auditor. On December 17, 1949, Vandegrift died at Sutter Hospital in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, from complications from an abdominal operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandegrift, Rolland 1893 births 1949 deaths California Directors of Finance Insurance agents People from Chico, California People from Washington, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War I University of California alumni University of California faculty University of Southern California faculty