William Fairfield Whiting

William Fairfield Whiting (July 20, 1864August 31, 1936) was United States secretary of commerce from August 22, 1928, to March 4, 1929, during the last months of the administration of Calvin Coolidge. Early life and career Whiting was born on July 20, 1864, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He was the son of William Whiting II, a politician and businessman, and Anna Morgan (née Fairfield). He attended Amherst College and graduated in the class of 1896 alongside future Secretary of State Robert Lansing. When Whiting's father, who organized the Whiting Paper Company, became president of that business, William Fairfield Whiting became treasurer. When his father died, Whiting became president of the Whiting Paper Company and his brother Samuel Raynor Whiting became treasurer. He became a lifelong friend of future President Coolidge when Coolidge was mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts. Later, Whiting and Frank Stearns were the first two "Coolidge Men" who advocated their friend as a serious presidential candidate. At the 1920 Republican National Convention, Whiting voted for Coolidge for president on every ballot, the sole delegate to do so after Warren G. Harding had sewed up the votes to win the nomination. Whiting was appointed as President Coolidge's secretary of commerce after the resignation of Herbert Hoover surprised the Washington establishment. The position was predicted to go to Hoover's preferred candidate, Dr. Julius Klein, the director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and Klein did not get the position when Hoover became president. Former Senator William Butler of Massachusetts turned down the post before Coolidge offered it to Whiting. His appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 1928.