Frederick Trubee Davison at Bolling Field, 1926.
Frederick Trubee Davison (February 7, 1896 - November 14, 1974) was an American World War II aviator, Assistant United States Secretary of War, Director of Personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and President of the American Museum of Natural History.
Davison was born on February 7, 1896 in New York as the son of Henry Pomeroy Davison and Kate Trubee. He graduated from the Groton School and attended Yale University as a part of the class of 1918. He was one of the founders of the First Yale Unit, which is considered the first naval air reserve unit, in 1916 in response to World War I raging in Europe. He and other students feared that the United States would soon be dragged into the war effort and would find itself poorly prepared, especially in aviation. On July 28, 1917, during his flying test in order to obtain his Navy wings, Davison lost control of his seaplane in a panic attack and spiraled into the sea, the impact of which split the plane in two. Davison was admitted to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken back and injured spinal cord. He never saw combat, but was active in unit activities and was awarded the Navy Cross for his services.
After the war, Davison finished his undergraduate program in 1919. He proceeded to attend Columbia University Law School, where he earned a law degree and went on to work with lawyers in Manhattan. He was on the cover of Time Magazine for the August issue in 1925. He was also elected to the New York State Legislature after the war, where he gained a reputation as being one of the hardest-working members. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1922 to 1926, and was Assistant Secretary of War for Air from July 1926 to March 1933. In July 1951, Davison became director of personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and left the post in April 1952.
On November 14, 1974, Davison died at his home on Peacock Point in Long Island at the age of 78.
Family[]
Davison married Dorothy Peabody in 1920. In 1922, he built a house on the Davison estate to keep his mother company.
- Endicott Davison
- Daniel Davison - m. Katusha Cheremeteff
- Gates Davison