John L. McLucas

John Luther McLucas (born August 22, 1920 in Fayetteville , North Carolina , † December 1, 2002 in Alexandria , Virginia ) was an American politician and government official who was both US Secretary of the Air Force and administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration ) was.

Life

After attending public elementary schools in McColl and Latta and high school in Latta, he began studying at Davidson College in North Carolina in 1937 , where he received a Bachelor of Science (BS) in 1941 . He then completed a postgraduate degree in physics at Tulane University in 1943 with a Master of Science degree (MS Physics). He then completed his military service as an officer in the US Navy between 1943 and 1946 and then worked for a year at the Air Force Cambridge Research Center in Cambridge . In 1947 he continued his studies at Pennsylvania State University , where he received a doctorate in physics in 1950.

He then began working in the private sector in 1950 and was President and Technical Director of Haller, Raymond and Brown Inc., an electrical engineering company based in State College , until 1957 . After serving as President of HRB-Singe Inc., he joined the Department of Defense in May 1962 , where he was Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering and Tactical War Programs. In 1964 he moved to NATO headquarters in Paris , where he became Assistant Secretary General for Scientific Affairs. In 1966 he returned to the United States and was subsequently President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Miter Corporation , a think tank based in Bedford and McLean .

From March 17, 1969, he was US Undersecretary of the Air Force as Deputy Air Force Secretary of State and initially took over the post of Air Force Secretary of State on May 15, 1973 after the resignation of the previous incumbent Robert Seamans . In addition, he was 1969 to 1973 director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a 1960/61 established military intelligence of the United States , which for the military satellite program is responsible and with the support of the CIA works directly for the Secretary of Defense.

On July 19, 1973, McLucas himself became Secretary of the Air Force and held this position until November 23, 1975. One of his Senior Enlisted Advisor was Thomas N. Barnes , the first and so far only African American in the post of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force . McLucas was then appointed in November 1975 by US President Gerald Ford as the successor to Alexander Butterfield as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and held this office until April 1, 1977. In this position, he led, among other things, the operations of the Keyhole - Spy satellites from the Corona program.

After his death, McLucas was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Publications and Awards

In addition to the author of numerous scientific articles in journals and the book Space Commerce (1991), McLucas also owns ten patents registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office . He also co-founded several smaller companies and was involved in civic organizations in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts .

He has also been honored several times and became a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1962 , a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1969 and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in 1971 . In addition to the Department of Defense's Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1964, he also received the Air Force Exceptional Service Award in May 1973 .

Finally, McLucas was involved in the American Physical Society , the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the Sigma Xi scientific association , the Defense Science Board and the Young Presidents Organization.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	McLucas, John L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	McLucas, John Luther (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician and government official
DATE OF BIRTH	22nd August 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Fayetteville , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	December 1, 2002
Place of death	Alexandria , Virginia