14th Secretary of Defense of the United States, sworn in by Jimmy Carter, January 21, 1977

Education

• 1945: bachelor's degree, Columbia University
• 1946: master's degree, Columbia University
• 1949: Ph.D., physics, Columbia University (earned at age 21!)

Career Track

• 1947-1952: research scientist at the University of California Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley
• 1952: staff member of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
• 1956-1957: consultant to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
• 1956-1958: member of the Polaris Steering Committee
• 1958-1961: member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
• 1960: director of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
• 1958-1959: senior science adviser to the Conference on the Discontinuance of Nuclear Weapons Tests
• 1958-1961: member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Ballistic Missiles to the Secretary of Defense.
• 1961-1965: Director of Defense Research & Engineering for the Department of Defense
• 1965-1969: Secretary of the Air Force
• 1969-1977: President of the California Institute of Technology
• 1977: Secretary of Defense

Harold Brown was President Jimmy Carter's first choice as Secretary of Defense. It is easy to see why. His academic record is amazing and his prior service to the military and to the government in areas of national security made him an obvious choice.

Brown stepped down from office at the end of Carter's unsuccesful reelection campaign. Since leaving office, he has been a member of many prominent research projects at high-brow think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Miscellaneous Achievements

• 1961: named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce
• 1961: Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award
• 1962: awarded the Columbia University Medal of Excellence
• 1983: published "Thinking About National Security: Defense and Foreign Policy in a Dangerous World"