William Amory Underhill (February 21, 1910 – September 7, 1999) was a public servant, lobbyist, and philanthropist prominent in his native

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and 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, ...

After graduating from

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

in DeLand, Florida in 1936 with a bachelor's degree in law (LLB), Underhill worked as a local attorney in DeLand until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. During World War II, Underhill served as a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

in the

U.S. 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 o ...

, shepherding prisoners of war across the Atlantic, until 1944 when he was assigned to then-Senator

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, who was campaigning for the Vice Presidency. After Truman assumed the Presidency, and following the end of the war in 1945, Truman named Underhill to lead the National Young Democrats. Following a year in that post, Underhill joined the

U.S. Justice Department 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 States ...

, working his way up to

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

for the Lands Division. In 1952, Underhill left the Justice Department to work as an attorney and lobbyist, particularly for Florida citrus concerns. In that capacity until his death, Underhill represented citrus growers on numerous issues, including the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In later years, Underhill was well known for his support of numerous charitable causes, including his alma mater Stetson University, St. Leo College, and Florida House in Washington, D.C. Having divided his time between DeLand, Florida and Washington, D.C. for decades, Underhill died at his DeLand home on September 7, 1999 of natural causes. CAC CC 001 18 25 0000 2429

References

''The Washington Post''–pqarchiver.com
1910 births 1999 deaths Stetson University alumni United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division American lobbyists Florida lawyers 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century American lawyers {{philanthropist-stub