Charles Thomas (Secretary of the Navy)

Charles Thomas
53rd United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
May 3, 1954 – April 1, 1957
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byRobert B. Anderson
Succeeded byThomas S. Gates Jr.
Personal details
Born
Charles Sparks Thomas

(1897-09-28)September 28, 1897
Independence, Missouri, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 1983(1983-10-17) (aged 86)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley
Cornell University

Charles Sparks Thomas[1] (September 28, 1897 – October 17, 1983)[2] was an American politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1954 to 1957.

Thomas was born in Independence, Missouri,[3] and he attended the University of California and Cornell University. During World War I, he served as a naval aviator. He joined the Eisenhower Administration in 1953 as Undersecretary of the Navy; later that year, he designated an Assistant Secretary of Defense.

During the 1930s, Thomas worked for Foreman and Clark. Thomas became president of Trans World Airlines on 2 July 1958, and served until 28 July 1960.[4] He subsequently was the president of the Irvine Company, which developed sprawling Southern California suburbs, through 1966. Thomas was director of several large corporations, including Lockheed.

  1. ^ "Guide to the Charles Sparks Thomas Papers MS.R.003". Oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  2. ^ "CHARLES S. THOMAS, WHO HEADED THE NAVY AND T.W.A., DIES AT 86 - Obituary". The New York Times. 1983-10-20. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  3. ^ Who's who in world aviation and astronautics - American Aviation Publications - Google Books. 1994-10-01. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  4. ^ Rummel, Robert (1991). Howard Hughes and TWA. Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 337,362. ISBN 9781560980179.