Calvin William Verity Jr. (January 26, 1917 – January 3, 2007) was an American government official and steel industrialist who served as the 27th United States secretary of commerce between 1987 and 1989, under President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Early life and education

He was born in Middletown, Ohio, on January 26, 1917, to Calvin William Verity and Elizabeth (O'Brien) Verity. He roomed with

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

Choate Choate may refer to: Places Canada * Choate, British Columbia, a locality in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada * , a lake in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada United States * Choate Mental Health and Development Center, a ...

, a

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

boarding school, starting a friendship with the future president. He graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Career

After graduating from college, Verity tramped around the world and worked as maître d' at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. He also served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1942 to 1945. Verity worked for most of his career at Armco Steel, a corporation founded by his grandfather, George M. Verity. He started there in 1940, and retired from Armco in 1982.

Secretary of Commerce

Between 1980 and 1981, Verity was a chairman in the United States Chamber of Commerce. In 1981, he served as chairman of Reagan's bipartisan task force on Private Sector Initiatives (PSI). In 1983, he was appointed to be a member of PSI's Advisory Council and later served on PSI's Board of Advisors. Between 1979 and 1984, he co-chaired the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Trade Economic Council, a private sector council of American and Soviet businessmen. During Verity's time at the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

, he established the Commerce Hall of Fame in 1988 to honor good employees of the department. In 1988, he also created the

Office of Space Commerce The Office of Space Commerce is an office within the United States Department of Commerce. It is currently one of several offices within the department that are responsible for overseeing and promoting economic activity in space. The office is sma ...

to support the

National Space Council The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration, disbanded in 1993, and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administrati ...

. That office was an early version of the

Office of Space Commercialization An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...

, an office created to promote the effective commercial use of

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

. According to

Jonathan Chait Jonathan Benjamin Chait () (born May 1, 1972) is an American pundit and writer for '' New York'' magazine. He was previously a senior editor at ''The New Republic'' and an assistant editor of ''The American Prospect''. He writes a periodic col ...

of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', Verity kept a passage from

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

's novel ''

Atlas Shrugged ''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...

'' on his desk, including the line "How well you do your work . . . sthe only measure of human value."

Personal life

Verity's wife, the former Margaret Wymond Verity known as Peggy, and had two sons and a daughter together, (Peggy Verity Power, Jonathan George Verity and William Wymond Verity). He died on January 3, 2007, a complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

, at the age of 89, twenty-three days before his 90th birthday. His wife, Peggy Verity died on Wednesday, January 20, 1999, at age 81. He is interred in Woodside Cemetery, Middletown, Ohio.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verity, William Jr. 1917 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Eli Lilly and Company people People from Middletown, Ohio United States Secretaries of Commerce Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Reagan administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Yale College alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II