James Day Hodgson

James Day Hodgson
Portrait c. 1970s
United States Ambassador to Japan
In office
July 19, 1974 – February 2, 1977
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byRobert S. Ingersoll
Succeeded byMike Mansfield
12th United States Secretary of Labor
In office
July 2, 1970 – February 1, 1973
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byGeorge Shultz
Succeeded byPeter J. Brennan
Personal details
Born(1915-12-03)December 3, 1915
Dawson, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedNovember 28, 2012(2012-11-28) (aged 96)
Malibu, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Maria Denend
​
(m. 1943⁠–⁠2012)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Minnesota (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles

James Day Hodgson (December 3, 1915 – November 28, 2012) was an American politician. He served as the Secretary of Labor and the Ambassador to Japan.[1]

Life and career

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Hodgson in a group photo of Nixon's cabinet on June 16, 1972, third from the right in the back row.

Hodgson was born in Dawson, Minnesota, the son of Fred Arthur Hodgson, a lumberyard owner, and his wife, Casaraha M. (née Day). He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1938 where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity,[2] and began graduate studies at the University of California at Los Angeles.[3] He married the former Maria Denend on August 24, 1943. They had two children, Nancy Ruth Hodgson, and Frederick Jesse Hodgson.

During World War II, Hodgson served as an officer in the United States Navy.[4] He worked for Lockheed for 25 years. From 1970 to 1973, Hodgson served as Richard Nixon's Secretary of Labor, and from 1974 to 1977, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan under Gerald Ford.[5][6]

Beginning in 1977, Hodgson served as the Chairman of the Board of the Uranium Mining Company. Hodgson served as an adjunct professor at University of California, Los Angeles and was visiting scholar from the American Enterprise Institute.[7]

Following the death of former Labor Secretary W. Willard Wirtz on April 24, 2010, Hodgson became the oldest living former Cabinet member. He died on November 28, 2012, in Malibu, California, and is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Los Angeles, California.[1]

Publications

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  • "American Senryu", The Japan Times, 1992 (a collection of senryū, short humorous poems similar to haiku)
  • "Doing Business with the New Japan", 2000 (written with Yoshihiro Sano and John L. Graham)

References

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  1. ^ a b Adkisson, Knowles (1915-12-03). "Hodgson, former Secretary of Labor, dies at Malibu home - Malibu Times: News: james hodgson, nixon, osha, hilda solis, lockheed". Malibu Times. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  2. ^ Phi Sigma Kappa, ed. (1992). Hills and a Star (10 ed.). Indianapolis, Indiana: Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity. pp. 74–76.
  3. ^ "James D. Hodgson". NNDB. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "Hodgson, James Day (b. 1915)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  5. ^ "James Day Hodgson (1915-)". US Department of State. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  6. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JAMES D. HODGSON" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 25 November 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Finding Aid of the James D. Hodgson Papers". Online Archives of California. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
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Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of Labor
1970–1973 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Japan
1974–1977 		Succeeded by
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