 |
James Roe Ketchum | |
|---|---|
| White House Curator | |
| In office 1963–1970 | |
| President | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | William Vos Elder III |
| Succeeded by | Clement Conger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 15, 1939 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 2024 Carlisle, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Colgate University |
James Roe Ketchum (March 15, 1939 – February 21, 2024) served as White House Curator from 1963 to 1970, appointed by President John F. Kennedy and continuing under presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. He then became Senate Curator from 1970 to 1995, making him the only person to serve as curator at both the White House and Capitol.
Born in Rochester and raised in Clyde, New York, Ketchum graduated from Colgate University in 1960. He went to Washington for graduate studies, first in law school at Georgetown University and then studying American history at George Washington University. He was serving as registrar at the Custis-Lee Mansion in Arlington when the National Park Service lent him to the White House to assist Mamie Eisenhower with upholstering some furnishings.