Joseph Bartlett Eastman (June 26, 1882 – 1944) was a member of 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) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

from 1919 until his death in 1944.

Biography

Joseph Bartlett Eastman was born in

Katonah Katonah is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. The Katonah CDP had a population of 1,679 at the 2010 census. History Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on June 26, 1882, to John Huse and Lucy (King) Eastman. He prepared at

Pottsville Area High School Pottsville Area High School is a coeducational public high school located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pottsville Area School District and is the largest public high school in Schuylkill County. It was founded in 1853 and offers ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, then matriculated to

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 ...

, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in the class of 1904. In 1905 he was the Amherst Fellow at South End House in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

; from 1906 to 1913 he was secretary of the

Public Franchise League The Public Franchise League was "a small informal group of high-minded citizens formed by Boston lawyer Louis D. Brandeis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Lo ...

in Boston. From 1907 to 1908 he attended

Boston University Law School Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an e ...

. He made his reputation as counsel in various wage arbitrations from 1913 to 1914. From 1915 to 1918 he was a member of the

Public Service Commission of Massachusetts In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

; in 1918 he was chairman of the

War Committee National Association of Railway and Public Utility Commissioners War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

; and he was appointed a member of the

in 1919. In 1933, he was nominated by

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 ...

, and confirmed by the Senate, to the position of Federal Coordinator of Transportation. He died on March 15, 1944. The Archives and Special Collections at

holds his papers.

External links

Joseph B. Eastman Papers, Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

''Joseph B. Eastman, A Study in Public Service'', by Claude Moore Fuess

1882 births 1944 deaths Amherst College alumni People of the Interstate Commerce Commission People from Katonah, New York People from Pottsville, Pennsylvania Boston University School of Law alumni {{US-law-bio-stub