Charles E. Saltzman
Charles E. Saltzman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 September 1903 Zamboanga City, Philippines |
| Died | 16 June 1994 (aged 90) New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Military officer, entrepreneur, government official |
| Years active | 1925–1973 |
| Known for | Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas; Under Secretary of State for Administration |
Charles Eskridge Saltzman (September 19, 1903 – June 16, 1994) was a distinguished American military officer, entrepreneur, and official within the U.S. State Department.
Early life and education
Born in Zamboanga City, Philippines, Saltzman was the son of Charles McKinley Saltzman, a captain in the U.S. Army Signal Corps who served on Major General Leonard Wood's staff. His mother, Mary Peyton Eskridge Saltzman, descended from prominent military leaders such as Brig. Gen. Hazard Stevens and Gen. Isaac Stevens. Owing to his father's military assignments, Saltzman spent his formative years living in various locations including the Philippines, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Panama.
At the age of five, he observed the Wright brothers' manned flight demonstration at Fort Myer—an event orchestrated by his father, who would later serve as chairman of the Federal Radio Commission from 1930 to 1932.
Following his graduation from a New York high school, Saltzman enrolled at Cornell University for one year before gaining admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1925 and was subsequently awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he completed a bachelor's degree in 1928.
Career
Upon finishing his academic pursuits, Saltzman held the rank of lieutenant in a combat engineer unit stationed at Camp A.A. Humphreys. Simultaneously, he acted as an aide to Campbell B. Hodges, military assistant to President Herbert Hoover, assisting with protocol duties during state dinners.
In 1930, he resigned from active military service to join New York Telephone Company as an engineer and manager but maintained affiliation with the Army Reserve and later the Army National Guard. By 1935, Saltzman transitioned to the New York Stock Exchange as assistant to the executive vice president and subsequently advanced to secretary and vice president roles.
Recalled to active duty in October 1940, following the attack on Pearl Harbor he was appointed assistant to the chief signal officer. From 1942 onward, he served abroad on Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark’s staff across London, North Africa, and Italy as deputy chief of staff. After World War II ended, he took part in the Allied occupation of Austria before concluding active duty in 1946 and retiring from the Reserves as a major general in 1955.
Saltzman briefly returned to the NYSE before President Truman appointed him Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas in 1947 under Secretary George Marshall. He departed from the State Department in 1949 to join Henry Sears & Co., a venture capital firm, where he collaborated with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. to support fundraising efforts for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1952 presidential campaign.
In 1954, Secretary John Foster Dulles selected him for a committee tasked with reviewing personnel management within the State Department. Acting on its findings, President Eisenhower appointed Saltzman Under Secretary of State for Administration from June through December 1954 to oversee implementation of recommended reforms.
Saltzman joined Goldman Sachs as a partner in 1956 and remained there until his retirement in 1973.
Personal life
Saltzman was married three times and fathered three children. His first marriage was in 1931 to Gertrude Lamont, daughter of Robert Patterson Lamont who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Herbert Hoover; they divorced in 1947. Their son, Charles McKinley Saltzman II (born 1937), graduated from Harvard and later became headmaster of the Madeira School located in McLean, Virginia.
On September 25, 1947, he married Cynthia Southall Myrick, daughter of Julian Southall Myrick—president of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The couple remained wed until 1969 and had three children: Cynthia Myrick Saltzman (born 1949), who married Warren Motley II; Richard Stevens Saltzman (1951–1965); and Penelope Washburn Saltzman, an attorney who wed architect Stuart Abbott Billings in 1985.
In 1978, Saltzman married Clotilde (née Knapp) McCormick, formerly Countess von Francken-Sierstorpff; they stayed married until his passing.
Saltzman passed away from a heart attack at his residence in New York on June 16, 1994.
Distinctions and Legacy
Throughout his career, Saltzman was honored with a variety of esteemed decorations, such as the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Croix de Guerre, Polish Cross of Merit, Order of the Crown of Italy, and the Brazilian War Medal.