Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, and resigned rather than refuse President Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
As of 2008, Richardson is the only individual to serve in four Cabinet-level positions within the Uni...
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Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, and resigned rather than refuse President Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
As of 2008, Richardson is the only individual to serve in four Cabinet-level positions within the United States government: Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1970 to 1973, Secretary of Defense from January to May 1973, Attorney General from May 24 to October 1973, and Secretary of Commerce from 1976 to 1977.
Richardson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, and then obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where he resided in Winthrop House, and graduated cum laude in 1941.
In 1942, following America's entry into World War II, Richardson entered the combat...
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