Ralph Austin Bard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Under Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office June 24, 1944 – June 30, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | James Forrestal |
| Succeeded by | Artemus Gates |
| Assistant Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office February 24, 1941 – June 24, 1944 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Lewis Compton |
| Succeeded by | H. Struve Hensel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 29, 1884 Cleveland, Ohio, US |
| Died | April 5, 1975 (aged 91) Deerfield, Illinois, US |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Hancock Spear |
| Children | 4, including Katharine Bard |
| Alma mater | Princeton University |
| Occupation | financier |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal[1] Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award |
| Signature |  |
Ralph Austin Bard (July 29, 1884 – April 5, 1975) was a Chicago financier who served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1941–1944, and as Under Secretary, 1944–1945. He is noted for a memorandum he wrote to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson in 1945 urging that Japan be given a warning before the use of the atomic bomb on a strategic city. He was "the only person known to have formally dissented from the use of the atomic bomb without advance warning."[2]
- ^ "Hall of Valor: Ralph A. Bard". militarytimes.com. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- ^ Gar Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), p. 225. ISBN 0-679-44331-2