Ray Lyman Wilbur

Ray Lyman Wilbur ( born April 13, 1875 in Boone, Boone County, Iowa, † June 26, 1949 in Palo Alto, California ) was an American physician and politician ( Republican) of the cabinet of U.S. President Herbert Hoover belonged as Interior Minister.

Life

Ray Wilbur was the younger brother of Curtis D. Wilbur, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy from 1924 to 1929. He spent his childhood in Iowa, in the Dakota Territory and in Riverside ( California). At Stanford University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1896 and 1897 the Master of Arts; there he met Herbert Hoover, with whom he became close friends for his life. In 1899 he earned his medical degree at the Cooper Medical College in San Francisco. In this city he practiced then also first as a doctor.

After a trip through Europe and the eastern United States in 1908 Wilbur returned to Stanford, where he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine. The following year, the appointment would come as Chairman ( Chairman ) of the Stanford Medical School; In 1911 he was the dean. Eventually he rose to become president of the University in January 1916. As a personal physician of President Warren G. Harding in 1923 he was present at his deathbed. From 1923 to 1924 he was the American Medical Association before; In 1927, he was also a member of the newly founded State Park Commission of California.

Policy

When Herbert Hoover as President offered him after his election the post of interior minister in his cabinet, Wilbur hesitated because he did not want to give up his position at Stanford. However, the local board of trustees assured him of a possibility of a return, after which he accepted the offer. During his four-year tenure Wilbur oversaw the first plans for the construction of Boulder Dam. On him the renaming goes into " Hoover Dam " back; subsequent efforts to change this name again were unsuccessful.

Ray Wilbur sat by the change of the seal of the Ministry of Interior. This had previously shown an eagle with outstretched wings, which has now been replaced by a standing bison. For him, this animal characterized the Authority's duties better.

After Herbert Hoover's election defeat against Franklin D. Roosevelt Ray Wilbur retired in March 1933 from the government. He returned to Stanford and practiced there until 1943, the Office of the President; after he was Chancellor of the University until 1949. A dormitory at Stanford today bears his name.