Rogers, William P.

Rogers, William P. (Pierce) (1913–  ) lawyer, cabinet officer; born in Norfolk, N.Y. He took his law degree from Cornell (1937). Assistant district attorney in New York (1938–42), he served with the U.S. Navy (1942–46). He became chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee investigating corruption in government expenditures (1947–50). Between long years with his New York firm, Rogers & Wells, he served as U.S. attorney-general under President Eisenhower (1957–61), and as U.S. secretary of state under President Nixon (1969–73). Known as a cautious negotiator, he found himself upstaged by Nixon's special assistant on foreign affairs, Dr. Henry Kissinger, but he worked hard and loyally to defend Nixon's policies before returning to his private practice.