William P. Rogers

William Pierce Rogers (June 23, 1913 – January 2, 2001) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. A member of the Republican Party, Rogers served as the 4th Deputy Attorney-General of the United States (1953–1957) and as the 63rd Attorney-General of the United States (1957–1961) in the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and as the 55th Secretary of State (1969–1973) in the administration of Richard Nixon. Rogers was a close confidant of Nixon, but National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger overshadowed Rogers and eventually succeeded him as Secretary of State in September 1973. At the time of his death in 2001, Rogers was the last surviving member of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cabinet. Early life and education Rogers was born June 23, 1913, in Norfolk, New York. After the death of his mother, the former Myra Beswick, he was raised during his teen years by his grandparents in the village of Canton, New York. He attended Colgate University, where he was initiated into the Sigma Chi fraternity. He then attended Cornell Law School, where he was an editor of the Cornell Law Quarterly. He received his LL.B. in 1937, graduating fifth in his class of 47 as a member of the Order of the Coif, passing the New York bar in the same year. Career