Frederick Baily Dent (August 17, 1922 – December 10, 2019) was an American businessman who served as the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

from February 2, 1973, to March 26, 1975, during the administrations of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Early life and education

Dent was born on August 17, 1922, in

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, to Edith (''née'' Baily) and Magruder Dent. He was raised in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

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 ...

, and attended St. Paul's School followed by

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 ...

, where he lettered in football. Dent was an officer in the Navy's

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program at Yale.

Career

Dent 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 1943 until 1946. In the Navy, Dent was the

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Junior Grade, where he captained the

sub chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

USS ''PC 1547'' and the patrol craft USS ''PCE(C) 873''. He saw action in the Pacific where his patrol craft ferried troops to beachheads, including Okinawa, Japan, in the final stages of World War II. From 1958 until 1972 and 1977 until 1988, Dent was the president of Mayfair Mills in

Arcadia, South Carolina Arcadia is a Census-designated place located in Spartanburg County in the U.S. State of South Carolina. According to the 2010 United States Census, the population was 2,634.See for population numbers and for municipality and CDP lists in the 201 ...

. He was appointed

secretary of commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, serving from February 2, 1973, to March 26, 1975, and was President

's Trade Representative, from March 26, 1975, to January 20, 1977. Dent served as the

United States trade representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Trade policy of the United States, American trade ...

from March 26, 1975, until January 20, 1977, during the remainder of President Ford's administration. He was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1994.

Personal life

On March 11, 1944, Dent married Mildred "Millie" Carrington Harrison. They had five children. He resided in

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

, South Carolina. Dent died on December 10, 2019, at the age of 97. He was the last surviving secretary of commerce during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

References

External links

* , - 1922 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Navy personnel of World War II Ford administration cabinet members Military personnel from New Jersey Nixon administration cabinet members People from Cape May, New Jersey Politicians from Spartanburg, South Carolina People from Washington, D.C. South Carolina Republicans United States Navy officers United States Secretaries of Commerce United States Trade Representatives {{South Carolina-politician-stub