Background
Gordon was born on July 3, 1916, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of H. B. Gordon and Ida Robinson.
(The sheer size of the soviet army is its most salient cha...)
The sheer size of the soviet army is its most salient characteristic and one of the most reavaling signs of the nation's contemporary military orientation. born of a tradition dating back to the Imperial Army and nourished by victory won by the crushing weight of numbers in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, the army's size became an issue during the Khrushchev era when modernists argued that nuclear weapons, rather than masses of men, would be decisive in any conflict.
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economist politician statesman
Gordon was born on July 3, 1916, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of H. B. Gordon and Ida Robinson.
Gordon received his education in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Upper Darby High School. He attended Swarthmore College and worked as a police reporter for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin to support himself. He graduated in 1938 with a B. A. degree in economics with highest honors. Gordon was a Rhodes Scholar and attended University College at Oxford University in the 1938-1939 academic year.
During his stay in England Gordon played on the lacrosse team and discussed important economic and world issues with his contemporaries Harlan Cleveland and Stephen K. Bailey. Upon his return to the United States, he served as a research candidate in economics at Swarthmore. After a one-year stint as an administration fellow at Harvard, Gordon served as an economist with the Office of Price Administration in Washington, D. C. , from 1941 to 1943. Gordon served two years in the United States Army during World War II, assigned to the Office of Strategic Services as an economist. Discharged as a second lieutenant in 1945, he returned to Washington and became a special assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. From 1943 until 1953 he served as a consultant to the Department of State and to the White House and helped in the preparation of the Report of Foreign Economic Policies in 1950. In 1951, Gordon also served as a consultant to the Office of Price Stabilization. While maintaining his link with the State Department, Gordon became an assistant professor of economics at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachussets, in 1946. He was promoted to full professor in 1956 and was appointed to the William Bough Chair. Gordon served as associate to the administrator of the Merrill Foundation for Advancement of Financial Knowledge from 1947 until 1956. Beginning in 1956, Gordon was an executive associate of the Ford Foundation. He was a director of economic development and administration at the foundation from 1960 until 1961 and also served on the foundation's board of trustees from 1967 to 1975. He resigned from Ford to prevent any conflict of interest between it and his work for the Brookings Institution, which began in 1965. In 1961, Gordon became David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy at Williams College. He was also a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, the National War College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a member of the board of editors for the American Economic Review from 1958 to 1960. As a civil servant, Gordon was ever mindful of imprudent uses of taxpayer money. Instead of using a chauffeured limousine, he drove a government-confiscated jalopy. His wit and perception were highly regarded by his colleagues and superiors alike. Gordon was well known for beginning meetings by chatting about trivial matters and then progressing to more important issues. President Kennedy appointed Gordon to the three-man Council of Economic Advisers in 1961, serving with James Tobin and Chairman Walter W. Heller. The advisers submitted fiscal plans on how to stimulate economic growth in the country. Gordon advocated high employment, price stability, and rapid production growth. Pleased with Gordon's work on the council, Kennedy appointed him to succeed David E. Bell as budget director in 1962. Gordon held this position under both presidents Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson until 1965. Besides preparing the budget and developing sound fiscal policies, the Bureau of the Budget is also responsible for advising the president on the progress of work in other federal agencies. As director of the bureau, Gordon was noted for his positive use of fiscal policy, but he often favored free-market solutions to economic problems as well. In 1965, Gordon became vice-president of the Brookings Institution, a private think tank financed primarily by endowments and grants from philanthropic foundations that conducts independent studies of economic, social, and political problems and sponsors conferences for government leaders and members of the private sector. The position of vice-president was newly created; Gordon was responsible for research and educational programs at Brookings. He also served as the first chairman of the Health Insurance Benefits Advisory Council, which advises the secretary of health, education, and welfare on the administration of the Medicare program. In 1974, Gordon published one of his last articles before his death in 1976. Entitled "Some Conjectures on Policy Problems in the 1970's, " it predicted some of the major international economic problems that the United States would face in the coming decades. It also discussed inflation, the environment, and the performance of the public sector. Gordon never received a Ph. D. and edited only one book, Agenda for the Nation, in 1968. He was respected as an economist from the oral tradition. His legacy at the Brookings Institution included a growth in staff and an increase in scholarly publication, while stressing quality. He died of pancreatitis in Washington, D. C. on June 21, 1976.
(The sheer size of the soviet army is its most salient cha...)
President of the Brookings Institution (1967); member of the Advisory Council on Social Security (1969-1972); member of the Pay Board (1971-1972); member of the General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament (1969-1973)
Gordon married Mary King Grinnell of Winnetka, Illinois, on December 25, 1941. The couple had three children.