William Verity Jr.
American businessman (1917-2007)
Calvin William Verity Jr. (January 26, 1917 – January 3, 2007) was an American government official and steel industrialist who served as the 27th United States secretary of commerce between 1987 and 1989, under President Ronald Reagan.
Early life and education
He was born in Middletown, Ohio, on January 26, 1917, to Calvin William Verity and Elizabeth (O'Brien) Verity. He roomed with John F. Kennedy at Choate, a Connecticut boarding school, starting a friendship with the future president. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Yale University.
Career
After graduating from college, Verity tramped around the world and worked as maître d' at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. He also served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945. Verity worked for most of his career at Armco Steel, a corporation founded by his grandfather, George Matthew Verity. He started there in 1940 and retired from Armco in 1982.
Secretary of Commerce
Between 1980 and 1981, Verity chaired the United States Chamber of Commerce.
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This entry incorporates text from “William Verity Jr.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.