The Resume

(July 20, 1920-December 31, 1999)
Born in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor (1965-67) and Attorney General (1967-69)
Served in the US Cabinet as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1970-73), Secretary of Defense (January-May, 1973), Attorney General (May-October, 1973) and Secretary of Commerce (1976-77)
US ambassador to Great Britain (1975-76)
Best known for resigning rather than carrying out Richard Nixon's order to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox (October 20, 1973)

Why he might be annoying:

He served in three different cabinet posts in one year.
His loss to conservative Ray Shamie in the Republican primary election for the US Senate in Massachusetts (1984) was considered symbolic of the demise of the GOP's moderate wing.
He joined the list of trustees for the legal defense fund set up to defray Bill Clinton's costs from fighting Paula Jones' sexual harassment allegations.
Perhaps coincidentally, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Clinton (1998).

Why he might not be annoying:

During the D-Day landings, he carried an officer who had lost his foot to safety while under enemy fire.
Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter was so impressed with his performance as a law clerk that Frankfurter recommended that Harvard name him as president, even though he was only 33.
He was the first (and as of 2008 only) person to serve in four cabinet posts.
He said of his refusal to fire Cox, 'The more I thought about it, the clearer it seemed that public confidence in the investigation would depend on it being independent not only in fact but in appearance.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Attorney
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 16]
• Golden Girls References
• Hamilton College's Most Admired Men [1977] (Ranked: 9)
• I am a Unitarian
• I Attended Harvard
• I Attended Milton Academy [Massachusetts]
• I Died Before the Ball Dropped [December 31st] (Ranked: 1999)
• I Died in 1999 (Ranked: 79)
• I Died in the City I Was Born In
• I'm Buried at Arlington National Cemetery [Virginia]
• Jane Fonda Doesn’t Like Me
• Look at Me, I Got a Microphone
• Look at Me, I'm with Richard Nixon
• People with Tom, Dick or Harry in their Names
• Profiles 24501-24750 (Ranked: 24528)
• Purple Hearts
• Served in World War II
• U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
• Watergate Players

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 21 Votes: 61.90% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 20 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 25 Votes: 60.0% Annoying