Landis, James

Landis, James (McCauley) (1899–1964) legal scholar; born in Tokyo, Japan (to American missionary parents). He served as an adviser to three U.S. presidents and as a professor (1926–33) then dean (1937–46) at Harvard Law School. He was appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission by President Roosevelt (1933–37), he chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board under President Truman (1946–47), and he acted as a special assistant to President Kennedy. His untimely death by drowning came coincidentally during a one-year suspension from practicing law for non-payment of his federal income taxes.