Charles Ruthven Denny Jr. (April 11, 1912 – October 30, 2000)"United States Social Security Death Index," Charles R Denny, 2000
/ref> was general counsel of the United States

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

, then a member of the commission itself, and was later its chairman. He was married and had three children, and he was a member of the Episcopal Church.

Life

The son and grandson of wallpaper wholesalers, Denny was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and grew up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He attended the Washington public schools, graduating from

Western High School Western High School may refer: Schools in the United States *Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California * Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois * Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida * Western High S ...

in 1929. He attended

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, receiving an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1933, and then

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, from which he graduated in 1936. After law school, Denny joined a Washington law firm, Covington, Burling, Rublee, Acheson & Shorb, but left after less than a year to join the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

in the Lands Division. He married Elizabeth Woolsey on December 31, 1937; the couple had three children: Alison, Christine, and Charles. Denny joined the FCC as assistant general counsel in February, 1942, and was promoted to general counsel the following October, replacing

Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 – May 23, 1998) was an American lawyer and professor. Taylor was known for his role as lead counsel in the prosecution of war criminals after World War II, his opposition to McCarthyism in the 1950s, and his o ...

. Denny was nominated to the FCC by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on March 14, 1945, to replace T.A.M. Craven, whose seat had been open since his term expired the previous June. At 32 years of age, Denny was the youngest person to be appointed to the FCC since its establishment in 1934. He was confirmed in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

on March 26, and took office March 30. Denny was succeeded as general counsel by assistant general counsel for broadcasting

Rosel H. Hyde Rosel H. Hyde (April 12, 1900 – December 19, 1992) served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) twice under the four different presidents. He was chairman from April 18, 1953, to October 3, 1954, and again from June 27, 196 ...

. Denny was designated acting FCC chairman on February 26, 1946, after chairman

Paul A. Porter Paul Aldermandt Porter (October 6, 1904 – November 26, 1975) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1944 to 1946. The following year he joined Washington, D.C. law firm Arnold ...

was appointed administrator of the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...

; Denny was designated permanent chairman on December 4, 1946. He left the FCC on October 31, 1947, and was succeeded as chairman on an interim basis by commissioner Paul A. Walker. Wayne Coy was appointed to the remainder of Denny's term, and was designated chairman when he took office. On leaving the commission, Denny took a position as general counsel of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

; he later rose to executive vice-president of parent company

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. He remained with RCA for 28 years before retiring at the end of 1975. Denny died on October 30, 2000, at age 88.

References

;Nomination and background: ;Confirmation: ;FCC service: ;Additional life and career details: ;Retirement: {{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Charles Ruthven 1912 births 2000 deaths Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission Harvard Law School alumni Amherst College alumni Truman administration personnel Members of the Federal Communications Commission