Dan A. Kimball

Dan Able Kimball ( born March 1, 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri, † 30 July 1970) was an American businessman and politician who served as Secretary of State of the United States Navy from 1951 to 1953.

Life

During the First World War, Dan Kimball served as pilot of the Army Air Service, a precursor to the U.S. Air Force. Even after his retirement from the military, he remained interested in aviation. From 1920 he was employed by the General Tire and Rubber Company, where he steadily rose within the company and brought it in 1942 as Vice President. After that, he was a member of the management of the Aerojet Engineering Company, a subcontractor of General Tire, which established rocket motors.

In February 1949, Kimball joined government services, when he took over the post of Under-Secretary in the Navy Office of the Defense Ministry. In May of the same year he was appointed deputy head of the authority, before he took over the office of the Secretary of the Navy from retiring Francis P. Matthews in July 1951. He held this post until the end of the presidency of Harry S. Truman in January 1953. His tenure was marked by the continuation of the Korean War, the expansion of the defense efforts at the federal level as well as the technological progress in the marine sector.

After his departure from the government Kimball returned to the private sector. He was Chairman of the Board of Aerojet General Corporation until 1969 and died the following year.