Fred A. Seaton

Fred A. Seaton
36th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office
June 8, 1956 – January 20, 1961
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by Douglas McKay
Succeeded by Stewart L. Udall
United States Senator
from Nebraska
In office
December 10, 1951 – November 4, 1952
Preceded by Kenneth S. Wherry
Succeeded by Dwight P. Griswold
Member of the Nebraska Senate
In office
1945–1949
Personal details
Born (1909-12-11)December 11, 1909
Washington, D.C.
Died January 16, 1974(1974-01-16) (aged 64)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Resting place Parkview Cemetery in Hastings, Nebraska
Political party Republican

Frederick Andrew "Fred" Seaton (December 11, 1909 – January 16, 1974) was an American newspaperman and politician. He represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate and served as United States Secretary of the Interior during Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration.

Early life and politics

Seaton was born in Washington, D.C. on December 11, 1909, the son of Dorothea Elizabeth (née Schmidt) and Fay Noble Seaton. He attended the Manhattan High School in Manhattan, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1931, and married Gladys Hope Dowd (November 5, 1910–January 5, 1999) in the same year. They had four children: Donald Richard, Alfred Noble, Johanna Christine, and Monica Margaret Seaton. In 1937, Seaton moved to Hastings, Nebraska, where he was for many years the publisher of the Hastings Tribune.

Seaton was active in Republican politics. He served in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature from 1945 to 1949. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1951, by the Nebraska Governor Val Peterson to fill the vacancy created by the death of Kenneth S. Wherry. A Rockefeller Republican, Seaton was senator for less than a year; he had to vacate the post on November 4, 1952, with the election of Dwight Griswold.

Seaton served in various White House and subcabinet posts in Eisenhower's administration before he was appointed the Secretary of the Interior. He served that in office from June 8, 1956 until January 20, 1961. During his tenure, Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states admitted to the Union. He ran for governor of Nebraska in 1962 but was defeated by the incumbent Democrat Frank B. Morrison (Olson, p. 335). Following his defeat, Seaton became a strong advocate for campaign finance reform in Nebraska.

Seaton died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 16, 1974, and is interred in Parkview Cemetery in Hastings, Nebraska.

Further reading

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

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