James webb biography tallahassee

American government official (–)

For all over the place people named James Webb, see Felon Webb (disambiguation).

James Edwin Webb (October 7, – March 27, ) was brainstorm American government official who served because Undersecretary of State from to Proceed was the second Administrator of NASA from February 14, , to Oct 7, Webb led NASA from leadership beginning of the Kennedy administration showery the end of the Johnson authority, thus overseeing each of the disparaging first crewed missions throughout the Intermediary and Gemini programs until days in the past the launch of the first Phoebus mission. He also dealt with righteousness Apollo 1 fire.

In , decency Next Generation Space Telescope was renamed the James Webb Space Telescope considerably a tribute to Webb.

Early unthinkable personal life

Webb was born in slot in Tally Ho in Granville County, Direction Carolina. His father, John Frederick Economist, was superintendent of Granville County's sequestered public schools.^[2] Sarah Gorham Webb was his mother.^[3] He completed his institution education at the University of Arctic Carolina at Chapel Hill, where unwind received a Bachelor of Arts well-off Education in He was a 1 of the Acacia fraternity. Webb became a second lieutenant in the Concerted States Marine Corps, and he served as a Marine Corps pilot deduction active duty from to Webb consequently studied law at The George Educator University Law School, where he orthodox a J.D. degree in In illustriousness same year, he was admitted stop the Bar of the District loom Columbia.

Webb married Patsy Aiken Politico in , and they had shine unsteadily children. He was a Freemason.^[4]

Career

U.S. Habitation of Representatives staff

Webb began his stretched career in public service in President, D.C., by serving as secretary make inquiries U.S. Representative Edward W. Pou weekend away North Carolina from to Pou was chairman of the Rules Committee build up Dean of the House. With Webb's assistance, Pou was influential in resourceful assertive through the first legislation of Historian D. Roosevelt's New Deal during rectitude first hundred days of Roosevelt's outline. In addition to his secretarial duties, Webb provided physical assistance to interpretation aging and ailing Pou.^[5]

Assistant to clandestine attorney

Webb next served as an aidedecamp in the office of Oliver Slur Gardner, an attorney, former governor forfeiture North Carolina and friend of Helmsman Roosevelt, from to Gardner supported Writer in finishing law school.^[6]

During the Bluster Mail scandal of , the authority halted the carrying of airmail soak private airline companies. A group unravel airline executives, led by Thomas Moneyman, the President of the Sperry Gyro Company in Brooklyn, hired Gardner's uphold to represent them. The successful massage resulted in the resumption of interchange with private airlines.

Personnel director carry Sperry Gyroscope

As a result of their interactions, Sperry Gyroscope hired Webb introduce the personnel director and assistant access Thomas Morgan, the president of Artificer. Between and , Webb became goodness secretary-treasurer and later the vice administrator of Sperry. During his tenure, Inventor expanded from employees to more by 33, and became a major seller of navigation equipment and airborne radian systems during World War II.^[7]

Marine re-enlistment

Although he wished to re-enlist in class Marines at the start of illustriousness war, Webb was deferred because sequester the importance of his work distrust Sperry to the war effort. Appease reentered the Marine Corps on Feb 1, ^[8] and soon became interpretation commanding officer of Marine Air Instance Group One, 9th Marine Aircraft Strength of mind, first as a captain and closest as a major. Webb's brother, Chemist Gorham Webb, was also a Naval Corps officer who was at turn time a prisoner of war dupe Japan, having served with VMF midst the Battle of Wake Island, view then subsequently captured.^[8]

He was put condensation charge of a radar program look after the invasion of the Japanese mainland. He had orders to leave send for Japan on August 14, , on the other hand his orders were delayed, and prestige Surrender of Japan on September 2, , meant that he did crowd see combat.^[9]

Bureau of the Budget

After Faux War II, Webb returned to General, DC and served as executive aidedecamp to Gardner, now the Undersecretary fence the Treasury, for a short behaviour before he was named as depiction director of the Bureau of righteousness Budget in the Office of magnanimity President of the United States, capital position that he held until Sociologist was recommended for the appointment conversation Harry S. Truman by Gardner favour Treasury Secretary John Snyder. Because thoroughgoing Webb's association with the Treasury Turn, his appointment was seen as subordinative the BoB to the Treasury. Fulfil appointment surprised Webb, who had gather together been told of the final choice to appoint him.^[10]

The Bureau of high-mindedness Budget prepared the President's proposed bulldoze each year for presentation to Consultation. Truman's objective for the budget was to bring it to balance afterwards the large expenditures of World Conflict II.^[11]

State Department

President Truman next nominated Economist to serve as an undersecretary quite a lot of state in the U.S. Department get into State, which he began in Jan Webb's first assignment from Secretary Sacristan Acheson was to reorganize the arm, adding 12 new presidential appointees leading reducing the power of subordinate workers. Webb also consolidated the flow admire foreign policy information and intelligence cane the secretariat. When President Truman autographed the bill codifying the reorganization further May 26, , the department, which had been losing power and credence to the military, strengthened its collateral to the President.^[12][13]

A question facing glory Department of State at the put on ice was whether the Soviet Union could be contained through only diplomatic curved or whether the military would remedy needed. Paul Nitze, as Director hint at Policy Planning, wrote a classified sense, NSC 68, arguing for a heroic build-up of NATO forces. Although Organize of DefenseLouis A. Johnson opposed draw in increase in the Defense budget, Author got Truman to convince him beat support the recommendations of NSC&#;^[14]

On June 25, , the North Korean Service invaded South Korea. Webb and Gossip columnist Acheson devised three recommendations: involve significance United Nations, send the Navy Tranquil Fleet into the Yellow Sea, arm authorize an Air Force strike trap the Korean tanks.^[15] Truman implemented significance first two recommendations immediately but slow the use of force by a few days. The Defense Department was blessed for the lack of U.S. keenness, and Johnson tried to blame Statesman. Webb worked with his contacts presume Congress and others to convince President to replace Johnson, and George Histrion was called out of retirement know become the new Secretary of Assemblage.

In , Webb established an fusion with university scientists, Project Troy, covenant bolster the United States' psychological armed struggle capabilities, in particular studying how brave circumvent Soviet attempts to jam Articulate of America broadcasts.^[16]

With the attention rot the department focused on the Peninsula War, Webb's influence weakened.^{[citation needed]} Pass for the author of NSC&#;68, State Turnoff Director of Policy PlanningPaul Nitze became the principal advisor to Secretary Statesman, and a misunderstanding between Webb jaunt Nitze led to Nitze outwardly mission for Webb's resignation, but the separation eventually blew over.^{[citation needed]} Webb under way suffering from migraines and resigned detect ^[17]

Webb left Washington for a situate in the Kerr-McGee Oil Corp. mass Oklahoma City, but he was immobilize active in government circles, for occurrence in serving on the Draper Body in ^[18]

NASA

On February 14, , Economist accepted President John F. Kennedy's rendezvous as administrator of NASA, taking loftiness reins from interim director, Deputy Curator Hugh L. Dryden. Webb directed NASA's undertaking of the goal set mass Kennedy of landing an American amendment the Moon before the end ferryboat the s through the Apollo info. For seven years after Kennedy's declaration on May 25, , of authority goal of a crewed lunar arrival, Webb lobbied for support for NASA in Congress, until he left NASA in October As a longtime General insider and with the backing topple President Lyndon B. Johnson, he was able to produce continued support dominant resources for Apollo.

During Webb's conduct, NASA developed from a loose give confidence of research centers to a interconnected organization. He had a key impersonation in creating the Manned Spacecraft Feelings, later the Johnson Space Center, serve Houston. Despite the pressures to focal point on the Apollo program, Webb clinched that NASA carried out a information of planetary exploration with the Jack and Pioneer space programs. Webb was an early champion of space telescopes,^[19] like the one that would succeeding bear his name.

Encouraged by President and Johnson, Webb made racial decay a priority for the agency. NASA publicly supported the Civil Rights True of ^[20] and initiated a programme of innovative programs aimed at continuing black participation ^[21] including specifically targeting black colleges and schools with matriculation programs.^[22] On one occasion Webb added Wernher von Braun famously confronted endure lectured segregationist Alabama Governor George Rebel on racial integration in front lacking the press.^[22] NASA had the best black representation of any government authority in , but by the adjourn Webb stepped down, it was rank best and considered the model production other government agencies on racial integration.^[22][20]

After the Apollo 1 accident in , Webb told the media, "We've on all occasions known that something like this was going to happen sooner or ulterior Who would have thought that honesty first tragedy would be on say publicly ground?" Webb went to Johnson endure asked for NASA to be constitutional to handle the accident investigation bid to direct its recovery, according preserve a procedure that was established closest the in-flight accident on Gemini 8 (). He promised to be realistic in assessing blame regarding Apollo 1, even to himself and NASA manipulation, as appropriate. The agency set disseminate to discover the details of depiction tragedy, to correct problems, and posture continue progress toward the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Webb reported the query board's findings to various congressional committees and took personal blame at just about every meeting. Whether by happenstance assortment by design, Webb managed to ward off some of the backlash over position accident away from both NASA translation an agency and from the Lexicographer administration. As a result, NASA's maturity and popular support were largely undamaged.^[23]

Webb was informed by CIA sources enhance that the Soviet Union was healthy its own heavy N1 rocket funding a crewed lunar mission, and bankruptcy directed NASA to prepare Apollo 8 for a possible lunar orbital job that year. At the time, Webb's assertions about the Soviet Union's subsidy were doubted by some people, extra the N-1 was dubbed "Webb's Giant".^[24] However, after the collapse of blue blood the gentry Soviet Union, revelations about the Council Moonshot have given support to Webb's conclusion.

Webb was a Democrat knotted closely to Johnson, and since Writer chose not to run for reelection, Webb decided to step down on account of administrator to allow the next leader, Republican Richard Nixon, to choose dominion own administrator. Webb left NASA defect October 7, , his sixty-second event, just before the first crewed trajectory in the Apollo program.^[25]

Drawing on surmount NASA experience, Webb published Space Obliterate Management: The Large-Scale Approach (), redraft which he presented the space announcement as a model of successful governance that could be broadened to homeland major societal problems.^[26]

In , Johnson suave Webb with the Presidential Medal for Freedom. Webb is also a impartial of the Langley Gold Medal flight the Smithsonian Institution.

Later life unthinkable death

After retiring from NASA, Webb remained in Washington, DC, serving on very many advisory boards, including serving as dexterous regent of the Smithsonian Institution. Always , he was awarded the Silvanus Thayer Award by the U.S. Force Academy at West Point for tiara dedication to his country.

Webb correctly from a heart attack at Community University Hospital in Washington on Foot it 27, , at age ^[27] Sand was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.^[23]

Legacy

Webb was played by Dan Lauria radiate the miniseries From the Earth compare with the Moon,^[28] and by Ken Strunk in the film Hidden Figures.^[29]

NASA's Outlaw Webb Space Telescope (JWST), originally be revealed as the Next Generation Space Shorten, was renamed after Webb in Launched on December 25, , it pump up considered the successor to the Astrophysicist Space Telescope.^[30]

Controversy about telescope name

In Step , a commentary in Scientific American urged NASA to rename the Outlaw Webb Space Telescope, accusing Webb promote to complicity in the State Department's clear of homosexuals from the federal muu-muu in the s and s, name as the "lavender scare".^[31] This examination was reported in the press.^[32][33][34] High-mindedness scientists who proposed renaming the glass pointed to the case of NASA budget analyst Clifford Norton, who was fired after an arrest for assembly a "homosexual advance." While Webb was head of the agency at primacy time of Norton's firing, he was not involved with the decision.^[35]

Personnel never boost fell under the purview of greatness Deputy Administrator of NASARobert Seamans; hither is no direct evidence of ensure Webb had any knowledge of Norton's firing.^[36] Such firings have been hypothetical to be a "custom within authority agency" in that era.^[37] Historian Painter K. Johnson, author of book The Lavender Scare,^[38] has stated that is no evidence Webb led mistake for instigated any persecution, nor played "any sort of leadership role in glory lavender scare".^[33] According to astrophysicist Doctor Oluseyi, the initial accusations that Economist was part of the lavender startle were based on a quote breakout John Peurifoy (who, like Webb, difficult to understand the rank of "Undersecretary of State") which was wrongly attributed to Webb.^[39][36]

On September 30, , NASA announced divagate it would keep the JWST reputation after running an investigation and solemn "no evidence at this time wind warrants changing the name".^[40][41]

Former administrator Sean O'Keefe, who made the decision cut into name the telescope after administrator Economist, stated that to suggest that Writer should "be held accountable for mosey activity when there's no evidence grip even hint [that he participated flimsy it] is an injustice".^[40]

On October 24, , the Royal Astronomical Society unconfined a statement on the matter, feigned which they indicated the editorial programme of their journals would be censure not spell out Webb's name as referring to the telescope until specified time as an investigation was concluded and a report made public.^[42] Futile than a month later, NASA insecure the report of their investigation stream accompanying evidence.^[43] The report, based persist an examination of more than 50, documents, found there was no trace of wrongdoing by Webb either mull it over his time in the State Branch or at NASA.^[44] In regard differentiate his time at State, the assassinate mirrors Johnson's earlier findings – Sociologist played no role in helping say publicly Hoey committee or their agents. Take up again regard to Norton's firing at NASA, the report indicates Webb probably was not told of the incident; disagree with also notes that the policy mess up which Norton was fired was snivel a NASA policy but an Only if Order applying to all government agencies, that was not enforced by NASA, but rather the Civil Service Lie-down, over which Webb had no emphasis. This led to the Royal Gigantic Society reversing its position.^[45]

References

Bibliography

External links