Symington, Stuart

Symington, (William) Stuart

(born June 26, 1901, Amherst, Mass., U.S.—died Dec. 14, 1988, New Canaan, Conn.) U.S. politician. He served in World War I, attended Yale University (1919–23), and entered politics in 1945 as chairman of the Surplus Property Board in the administration of Pres. Harry S. Truman. He served as secretary of the air force (1946–50). As U.S. senator from Missouri (1953–77), he advocated a strong national defense but was an outspoken critic of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, considering it unimportant to national security and harmful to the economy.

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Symington, Stuart (1901–88) U.S. senator; born in Amherst, Mass. He served in the army during World War I, attended Yale (1919–23), and worked as an executive for several companies, becoming in 1939 the president and chairman of the Emerson Electric Manufacturing Company in St. Louis. He was assistant secretary of War for Air and then the first secretary of the air force during the first Truman administration. He ran for the Senate from Missouri in 1952 and was reelected three times. He retired in 1975.