James R. Schlesinger
James Rodney Schlesinger (February 15, 1929 – March 27, 2014) was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to becoming Secretary of Defense, he served as Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from 1971 to 1973, and as CIA Director for a few months in 1973. He became America's first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter in 1977, serving until 1979.
James R. Schlesinger
Vernon A. Walters (acting)
Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Ohio, U.S.
8
Harvard University (BA, MA, PhD)
While Secretary of Defense, he opposed amnesty for draft resisters and pressed for development of more sophisticated nuclear weapon systems. Additionally, his support for the A-10 and the lightweight fighter program (later the F-16) helped ensure that they were carried to completion.
Personal life[edit]
In 1954, Schlesinger married Rachel Line Mellinger (1930–1995); they had eight children: Cora (1955), Charles (1956), Ann (1958), William (1959), Emily (1961), Thomas (1964), Clara (1966) and James (1970).
Though raised in a Jewish household, Schlesinger converted to Lutheranism as an adult.[24]
Rachel Schlesinger was an accomplished violinist and board member of the Arlington Symphony. In the early 1990s, she was a leader in the fundraising effort to create a premier performing arts center on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. She died from cancer before seeing the center's completion. After her death, Dr. Schlesinger donated $1 million to have the center named in his wife's memory. The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus opened in September, 2001. It is an up-to-date building that features the Mary Baker Collier Theatre, the Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery, the Wachovia Forum and Seminar Room spaces. Clients of the Schlesinger Center include the Alexandria Symphony, the United States Marine Band, "The President's Own", and the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra, the United States Army Band, "Pershing's Own", and the U.S. Army Strings, the United States Navy Band, the New Dominion Chorale, the American Balalaika Symphony, Festivals of Music, various ethnic groups and many others.
Schlesinger worked consistently with distinction long after his government and academic experiences, serving on numerous governmental advisory boards until only weeks before his death at the age of 85.[25][26]
He was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield, Ohio.
In popular culture[edit]
Schlesinger is referred to in the book Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa[27] concerning actions taken by Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Trump and Biden. According to the news outlet Slate, in 1974 "Schlesinger told Brown," then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "to call him if he received any unusual orders from Nixon. Brown then told all the four-star officers in charge of the various military commands (including Strategic Air Command, which then had control of nuclear weapons) that they were not to carry out any 'execute orders' from the president unless Brown and Schlesinger first verified the orders."[27] Senator Chuck Grassley recently called these actions "extralegal".[28] According to Grassley, "'when President Nixon faced a crisis over impeachment and resignation, Secretary of Defense Schlesinger feared he might order an unprovoked nuclear strike,' he continued. 'So he reportedly took extralegal steps to prevent it.'" Both author Fred Kaplan and Grassley distinguish the actions of Schlesinger as Secretary of Defense, from the actions of Mark Milley as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Grassley saying: "Pulling a Milley is a very different kettle of fish. A four-star general can't 'pull a Schlesinger'. Schlesinger was at the top of the chain of command, just below the President. He kept the President's constitutional command [sic] authority firmly in civilian hands. Milley allegedly placed military hands—his hands—on controls that belong exclusively to the President."