Clarence B. Randall

Clarence Belden Randall (March 5, 1891 – August 4, 1967) was an American lawyer and businessman. During the steel disputes of 1952, he served as a spokesman for the steel industry. He served as Chairman of the Board of Inland Steel Company and as an advisor to Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

Biography

Randall was born in Newark Valley, New York, on March 5, 1891. He graduated from Harvard College in 1912 and Harvard Law School in 1915. He moved to Ishpeming, Michigan, where he was admitted to the Michigan bar,[1] and met his wife, Emily. Randall completed his military training for the United States Army at Fort Sheridan. Randall served in France during World War I as a captain in the 35th and 85th Infantry Divisions.[2] He and Emily married in 1917, after he returned from the war.[3] Returning to Ishpeming, Randall continued practicing law. He began to work for Inland Steel in 1925. He became a vice president in 1930. In 1949, he was elected the president of the company.[1][2] Randall lived in Winnetka, Illinois with his family. He served on the Winnetka School Board. Randall wrote several books including his memoir, Over My Shoulder.[4]

During the 1952 steel strike, when President Harry S. Truman nationalized steel companies whose workers were threatening to strike, Randall gave a speech that was televised nationally attacking Truman and the United Steelworkers, criticizing them for "shocking distortions of fact".[2] In 1953, Randall became the chairman of the board of Inland Steel. That year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Randall as Chairman of the Commission on Foreign Economic Policy, putting him in charge of studying the Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934 and recommending changes.[5] The commission recommended extending the act.[6] He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1954.[7] He retired from Inland Steel in 1956,[8] and traveled to Turkey on an economic mission on behalf of President Eisenhower.[9] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1957.[10] Randall also served as an advisor to President John F. Kennedy, conducting an economic mission in Ghana, in which he assessed the Volta River Dam.[2][11]

In July 1963, Randall received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Kennedy.[2]

Randall suffered a heart attack on August 1, 1967. He died on August 4, 1967, in a hospital in Ishpeming, Michigan.[2]

See also

References
  1. "C.B. Randall Will Head Inland Steel (April 8, 1949)". Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. "Clarence B. Randall, 76, Dies (August 6, 1967)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  3. "The Road to Success (November 29, 1952)". Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  4. "David Felts Column," Carbondale Southern Illinoisan, October 30, 1956, p. 4.
  5. "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  6. "Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. "Clarence Belden Randall". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  8. "Inland, Chrysler Chairmen Retiring; Clarence B. Randall to Step Down at 65, K.T. Keller at 70 RANDALL, KELLER RETIRING IN APRIL" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  9. "RANDALL IN ANKARA; Eisenhower Aide to Scan Turkish Economic Needs" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  10. "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  11. Young, Robert (October 21, 1961). "Randall Given Advisory Post on Foreign Aid: First Task is Report on Volta River Dam". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 5. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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