James Lawrence Fly

James Lawrence Fly
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
In office
September 1, 1939 – November 13, 1944
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byFrank R. McNinch
Succeeded byEwell K. Jett
Chairman, Defense Communications Board
In office
September 24, 1940 – November 13, 1944
Preceded byoffice created
Succeeded byEwell K. Jett
Personal details
BornFebruary 22, 1898
Dallas County, Texas
DiedJanuary 6, 1966 (1966-01-07) (aged 67)
Daytona Beach, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMildred Marvin Jones
ChildrenJames Lawrence Fly, Jr., and Sara Virginia Fly
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy, Harvard Law School
Occupationlawyer
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1920–1923
FCC Commissioners Frederick I. Thompson, T.A.M. Craven, Chairman James Lawrence Fly, Commissioners Thad H. Brown, and Norman S. Case, left to right, inspect the latest in television, December 1, 1939.

James Lawrence "Larry" Fly (February 22, 1898 – January 6, 1966) was an American lawyer, famous as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and, later, director of the American Civil Liberties Union.[1] He helped inaugurate standards for commercial television broadcasting, and vigorously opposed wiretapping throughout his career.

  1. ^ Edwardson, Mickie (January 1, 1999). "James Lawrence Fly, the FBI, and wiretapping". The Historian. 61 (2). Blackwell Publishing: 361–382. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1999.tb01031.x. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009.