Typed note signed "Ray Lyman Wilbur" to "Mr. Halpern" (Seymour Halpern) in response to Halpern's inquiry regarding the key to success in life.
Washington, D.C: March 14, 1929.
Price: $50.00
About the item
1/2 p. on "Secretary of the Interior" letterhead with embossed Department of the Interior seal. 7 x 9 inches. Old folds, minor staining, else very good.
Item #310613
Ray Lyman Wilbur (1875-1949) was the only physician on the faculty at Stanford University when he began his career there as an instructor and later an assistant professor, while still maintaining a full-time medical practice. Wilbur finally gave up his practice when he became a professor of medicine and then dean of the new Stanford University School of Medicine, in 1911. In 1916, Wilbur was chosen to serve as the president of Stanford. He served until 1943 and during his tenure also served simultaneously as the 31st Secretary of the Interior during the Hoover administration. During his time in the Cabinet, Wilbur addressed corruption left over from the Harding administration but was criticized when he renamed the Boulder dam in honor of his lifelong friend and chief executive, Herbert Hoover.
As a high school student, Seymour Halpern (1913-1997), wrote letters to many notables of the day including politicians, military officers, entertainers, diplomats, artists, activists, writers, and businessmen, inquiring about their ideas to the keys to success in life. Halpern would later go on to serve as Republican from New York to the 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st and 92nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1973.
