Ray Lyman Wilbur

Ray Lyman Wilbur

Ray Lyman Wilbur (April 13, 1875 – June 26, 1949) was a medical doctor, the third president of Stanford University, and the 31st United States Secretary of the Interior.

He was born in Boone County, Iowa, to Dwight Locke Wilbur and Edna Maria Lyman (his brother, Curtis Dwight Wilbur, became United States Secretary of the Navy under President Calvin Coolidge and a Judge of the Supreme Court of California). He studied at Stanford University (B.A. 1896, M.A. 1897) and got a medical degree at Cooper Medical College in 1899. He later became Warren Harding's personal physician and was present at Harding's deathbed.

Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine from 1911 to 1916, he served as president of Stanford from January 1, 1916 until 1943, including during his period as Secretary of the Interior. He was President of the American Medical Association from 1923-1924. His son, Dwight Locke Wilbur, followed in his footsteps as President of the AMA in 1968-1969. From 1943 until his death in 1949 he served as the university's chancellor.

Wilbur joined several private men's clubs, including the Bohemian Club, the Pacific-Union Club, the Commonwealth Club and the University Club in San Francisco.^[1]

In 1927, when the California Legislature established the State Park Commission,^[2] Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur became one of the original commission members along with:^[3] Major Frederick R. Burnham, W. F. Chandler, William E. Colby (Secretary), and Henry W. O'Melveny.

He was nominated for the position of Secretary of the Interior by his friend President Herbert C. Hoover on March 5, 1929, and took office the same day. His tenure ended on March 4, 1933.

A dormitory complex at Stanford University is named after him.

References

Further reading

• The Memoirs of Ray Lyman Wilbur 1875-1940, Stanford University Press, 1960.
• Ely, Northcutt. (1994-12-16). "Doctor Ray Lyman Wilbur: Third President of Stanford & Secretary of the Interior." Paper presented at the Fortnightly Club of Redlands, California, meeting #1530. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.

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v • d • e Cabinet of President Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Vice President Charles Curtis (1929-1933) Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg (1929) • Henry L. Stimson (1929-1933) Secretary of War James William Good (1929) • Patrick J. Hurley (1929-1933) Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon (1929-1932) • Ogden L. Mills (1932-1933) Attorney General William D. Mitchell (1929-1933) Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown (1929-1933) Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams III (1929-1933) Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur (1929-1933) Secretary of the Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde (1929-1933) Secretary of Commerce Robert P. Lamont (1929-1932) • Roy D. Chapin (1932-1933) Secretary of Labor James J. Davis (1929-1930) • William N. Doak (1930-1933)