Paul Rand Dixon
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Paul Rand Dixon (September 29, 1913Template:SndMay 2, 1996)[1] was an American attorney and decorated World War II veteran. Dixon was a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), serving on the body from 1961 to 1981.[2] Additionally, he served as the agency's chair from 1961 to 1969 and again briefly in 1976.[3][4]
Early life and education
Dixon was born September 29, 1913, in Nashville, Tennessee, to James and Sarah Dixon.[5] He received his bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.[6]
Career
Dixon was a member of the FTC's staff from 1930 to 1957, except for his three years of service in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. While in the Navy, Dixon would reach the rank of lieutenant commander. Between 1957 and 1961, Dixon served as counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee, where he worked with Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN).[7]
Tobacco regulation
As FTC Chair, Dixon notably led the successful fight in 1965 to mandate cigarette companies to include health warnings on their products.[8] The push began following a report by the Surgeon General on the carcinogenic qualities of tobacco, which led Dixon himself to stop smoking.[9]
Reputation
During his time as an FTC Commissioner, Dixon developed a reputation as a "colorful and often controversial member" with "almost legendary wit and candor". In 1978, he was praised at a reception for his longtime service to the agency by then-FTC Chair Michael Pertschuk, who said:[10]
"Paul Band [sic] Dixon can follow a trial of greed and abuse of market power by instinct to its source, and his heart and vote are consistently with the consummer [sic]"
Personal life
Dixon was a Methodist, and attended the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Dixon died on May 2, 1996, at the age of 82, having outlived his wife, Doris Evelyn (née Busby). Dixon was survived by his two sons, Paul Jr. and David.[5]
Legacy
In 2014 a famous dictum of his, from a ruling in a multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme case, "an intolerable potential to deceive," was newly immortalized in the title of a book, Downline... an intolerable potential to deceive, by E. Robert Smith.[11] The FTC has awarded the "Paul Rand Dixon Award" in his honor to individuals within the agency who have displayed strong character and commitment to antitrust enforcement.[12]
See also
References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Commissioners and Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission March 2013
- ↑ Paul Rand(all) Dixon, 1913-1996 - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
- ↑ The Old Lady's New Look - TIME
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Federal Trade Commission: Oral Histories
- ↑ Paul Rand(all) Dixon, 1913-1996 - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Author's website for the book.
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External links
- Dixon's historical profile
- Time article about Dixon from April 1965
- Harvard University profile
- 1962 article about Dixon
- Pages with script errors
- Florida Gators football coaches
- Vanderbilt Commodores football players
- United States Navy officers
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- Federal Trade Commission personnel
- 1913 births
- 1996 deaths
- Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni
- Kennedy administration personnel
- Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel
- Nixon administration personnel
- Ford administration personnel
- Carter administration personnel
- Reagan administration personnel
- Military personnel from Nashville, Tennessee
- Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee
- Coaches of American football from Tennessee
- American football quarterbacks
- Methodists from Tennessee