John Roy Steelman was the first Assistant to the President of the United States, serving President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 from 1946 to 1953. The office later became the White House Chief of Staff

White House Chief of Staff

The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...

.

He was the most recent White House Chief of Staff to serve the full term of a president. He also holds the record for the longest term as Chief of Staff at six years.

Steelman attended Henderson Brown College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,548. The city is the county seat of Clark County. The city is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson State...

 and graduated in 1922. He later went to Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

, (MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 1924) and University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 (PhD 1928). He was Professor of Sociology and Economics in Alabama College in Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with around 3000 students. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city of Montevallo is 4,825....

 from 1928–1934.

Before joining the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, Steelman served as:

• Commissioner of Conciliation, U.S. Conciliation Service, Department of Labor 1934–36
• Special Assistant to the Secretary of Labor 1936–1937
• Director, U.S. Conciliation Service, Department of Labor 1937–1944
• Special Assistant to the President, 1945–1946
• Director, Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, 1946
• Chairman, President's Scientific Research Board, 1946–1947
• Assistant to the President, 1946–1953
• Acting Chairman, National Security Resources Board, 1948–1950
• Acting Director, Office of Defense Mobilization, 1952

After leaving the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, Steelman became an Industrial Relations Consultant in Washington, D.C. from 1953–1968. From 1955 to 1969 he served in a variety of corporate roles:

• President of the Montgomery Publishing Company
• Chairman of the Board of the Record Publishing Company
• Publisher of newspapers in Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Rockville, Maryland

He died in 1999 in Naples, Florida

Naples, Florida

Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...

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