Ray Garrett Jr.

Template:Short description Template:More citations Template:Infobox officeholder Ray Garrett Jr. (August 11, 1920 – February 3, 1980) was a member of the Gardner Carton & Douglas law firm in Chicago until his appointment as the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Richard Nixon in 1973, where he served for two years.

Early life

Ray Garrett Jr. was born on August 11, 1920,<ref name="SEC-pressrelease-1957">Template:Cite press release</ref> to Ray Garrett, a lawyer.<ref name="obit">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref><ref name="marriage">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref> He attended public schools in Glencoe and Evanston, Illinois. He graduated from Evanston Township High School.<ref name="SEC-pressrelease-1957"/> He graduated from Yale University with an A.B. in 1941,<ref name=ABAJ>Template:Cite journal</ref> where he was a member of the glee club and Beta Theta Pi fraternity.<ref name="marriage"/><ref name="sec">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref> In 1949, he graduated from Harvard Law School with a LL.B.<ref name=ABAJ/><ref name="obit"/>

Garrett served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a captain in the artillery, where he saw action at the Battle of the Bulge. He was in the first American artillery battalion across the Rhine and earned a bronze star.<ref name=WaPo-obit>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYT-SECchair>Template:Cite news</ref> He served in the Army National Reserve and was associated with the U.S. Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics.<ref name="SEC-pressrelease-1957"/>

Career

Following graduation, Garrett remained at Harvard Law School as a teaching fellow. He was assistant professor of law at New York University School of Law from 1950 to 1952. In 1952, he joined the Chicago law firm Gardner Carton & Douglas.<ref name="obit"/>

On October 25, 1954, Garrett joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C. He was associate director of the division of corporate regulation until January 6, 1956. He then served as director of the division. In 1958, he rejoined Gardner, Carton & Douglas.<ref name="SEC-pressrelease-1957"/><ref name="obit"/><ref name="sec"/> He was a visiting lecturer at Northwestern University School of Law.<ref name="obit"/> He was appointed chairman of the SEC by President Richard Nixon in August 1973 to replace G. Bradford Cook following the Watergate scandal. He served in the role until October 1975.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="sec"/> He spearheaded the demise of fixed commissions on stock transactions, which met with mixed results.Template:Citation needed

Garrett was a member of the board of directors of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. He was on the board of the Chicago Title and Trust Company.<ref name="sec"/> In 1965, he was chairman of the section of corporation banking and business law of the American Bar Association. He was chairman of the advisory committee for the corporate department financing department of the American Bar Foundation.<ref name="sec"/> He participated in revising Parts VII through XI of the American Law Institute's Federal Securities Code which was published the year he died, and was a frequent contributor to journals in his field.Template:Citation needed

Personal life

Garrett married Virginia Hale, daughter of John T. Hale, of Rockdale, Texas, on July 27, 1943.<ref name="SEC-pressrelease-1957"/><ref name="obit"/><ref name="marriage"/> They had three daughters, Nancy, Susan and Anne.<ref name="obit"/> He lived on Myrtle Street in Winnetka, Illinois.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="sec"/>

Garrett died on February 3, 1980, at Evanston Hospital in Chicago.<ref name="obit"/>

Legacy

The Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Institute at Northwestern University was established in memory of Garrett.<ref name=NWU-about>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Garrett Institute, Northwestern University