Roger Putnam | |
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![]() Putnam in 1952 | |
Born | Roger Lowell Putnam December 19, 1893 |
Died | November 24, 1972 (aged 78) |
Alma mater | Noble and Greenough School in Boston; Harvard University (1915 degree in math) |
Occupations |
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Known for | Sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory for 40 years |
Board member of |
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Spouse | Caroline Jenkins |
Children | Caroline, Roger Jr., William, Anna, Mary, and Michael |
Parent | William Lowell Putnam II |
Awards | Honorary degrees from Boston College (1949), Saint Anselm College (1952), and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (1970) |
Roger Lowell Putnam (December 19, 1893 – November 24, 1972) was an American politician and businessman. A member of the prominent Lowell family of Boston, he served as Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1937 until 1943, and as director of the Economic Stabilization Administration from 1951 until 1952. During his short tenure in federal office, the nation's steelworkers struck—leading United States President Harry S. Truman to seize the nation's steel mills.
For 40 years, Putnam was also the sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory. During that time, he purchased three new telescopes for the observatory and was instrumental in pushing Lowell astronomers to search for Percival Lowell's theoretical "Planet X"—which led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930.[1][2]
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