John R. Steelman

Who was John R. Steelman?

John Roy Steelman was the first Assistant to the President of the United States, serving President Harry S. Truman from 1946 to 1953. The office later became the White House Chief of Staff.

He was the only White House Chief of Staff to serve the full term of a president. He also holds the record for the longest term as Chief of Staff at six years.

Steelman attended Henderson Brown College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and graduated in 1922. He later went to Vanderbilt University, and University of North Carolina. He was Professor of Sociology and Economics in Alabama College in Montevallo, Alabama from 1928–1934.

Before joining the White House, Steelman served as:

Commissioner of Conciliation, U.S. Conciliation Service, Department of Labor 1934–36

Special Assistant to the Secretary of Labor 1936–1937

Director, U.S. Conciliation Service, Department of Labor 1937–1944

Special Assistant to the President, 1945–1946

Director, Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, 1946

Chairman, President's Scientific Research Board, 1946–1947

Assistant to the President, 1946–1953

Acting Chairman, National Security Resources Board, 1948–1950

Acting Director, Office of Defense Mobilization, 1952