Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1874)
Harold LeClair Ickes ( IK-əs; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest-serving Cabinet member in U.S. history after James Wilson. Ickes and Labor Secretary Frances Perkins were the only original members of the Roosevelt cabinet who remained in office for his entire presidency.
Ickes was responsible for implementing much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal". He was in charge of the major relief program the Public Works Administration (PWA) and in charge of the federal government's environmental efforts.
In his day, he was considered a prominent liberal spokesman, a skillful orator and a noted supporter of many African-American causes, although he at times yielded to political expediency where state-level segregation was concerned. Before his national-level political career, in which he did remove segregation in areas of his direct control, he had been the president of the Chicago NAACP.
Robert C. Weaver, who in 1966 became the first African-American person to hold a cabinet position in the U.S., was in the "Black Kitchen Cabinet", Ickes' group of advisers on race relations.
Ickes was the father of Harold M. Ickes, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton.
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1952Feb, 3
Harold L. Ickes
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Events on 1952
- 2May
De Havilland Comet
The world's first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg. - 3Jul
RMS Queen Mary
The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary. - 7Jul
SS United States
The ocean liner SS United States passes Bishop Rock on her maiden voyage, breaking the transatlantic speed record to become the fastest passenger ship in the world. - 15Sep
Eritrea
The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia. - 20Oct
Mau Mau Uprising
Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.