Alan Willcox

Alan Willcox
Born(1901-07-30)July 30, 1901
Akron, Ohio
DiedApril 27, 1978(1978-04-27) (aged 76)
Education
EmployerU.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Children2[1]
ParentWalter Francis Willcox

Alanson Work Willcox (July 30, 1901 – April 27, 1978)[2] was an American lawyer who served as general counsel to the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Willcox was born in Akron Ohio, the son of statistician Walter Francis Willcox.[3] He graduated from The Hill School in 1918, Cornell in 1922, and Harvard Law School in 1926.[4] At Cornell, he was a member of Psi Upsilon.[5]

He worked for the US Government during the Roosevelt and Truman years, from 1934-1953, and later returned to Washington (1961-1969) during the Kennedy/Johnson presidency. Initially he worked as a legal advisor for the Treasury Department but within a short time he started a longer term position with the Social Security Board which had recently been established to implement and operate the Social Security Act of 1935. During that period an important part of his role involved ensuring that the Social Security Act could be defended against constitutional challenges.[1]

In the sixties he was appointed as general counsel to the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare[4] and was deeply involved in the Social Security Amendments of 1965 which resulted in creation of the Medicare program.[1]

Mountaineering

Until into his 40s he was an active and enthusiastic climber and alpinist. Amongst those he climbed with were Bill House[6] (who was a key member of the 1938 American Karakoram expedition to K2), Elizabeth Woolsey and his brother William B. Willcox.[7][8]

As well as climbing in the European Alps,[1] he also joined Fritz Wiessner, Bill House and Elizabeth Woolsey in 1936 on an expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Waddington which, at the time, was Canada’s highest unclimbed peak at 4,019 m (13,186 ft).[9][10][1]

Willcox died at his Washington home in 1978, leaving his wife and their two sons.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Willcox, Bertram F. (May 1979). "Alanson Willcox: From Waddington to Washington". Cornell Alumni News. Vol. 81, no. 9. Cornell Alumni Association. pp. 29–32. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Allanson W. Willcox". The Ithaca Journal. April 28, 1978. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Ansell, E. (1939). Admissions to Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge. ISBN 9781107553897.
  4. ^ a b "Hearing before the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate" (PDF). www.finance.senate.gov. February 1, 1961. p. 3-4. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "The Cornell Daily Sun 28 January 1919 — The Cornell Daily Sun". Cdsun.library.cornell.edu. January 28, 1919. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Bates, Robert H. (1998). "William P. House, 1913-1997". American Alpine Journal. #72 (40). ISBN 978-0930410780. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Willcox, W.B. "An American Tyrol, Climbs in the Bighorns 1933". American Alpine Club. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Beckey, Fred (1977). "North America, United States, Wyoming, The Innominate, Northwest Face and Ridge, Bighorn Mountains". American Alpine Journal. #21 (51): 190. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Chic Scott (2000), Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering, Rocky Mountain Books, ISBN 9780921102595, p. 114
  10. ^ Weissner, Fritz H. (1937). "The First Ascent Mt Waddington" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #49: 49–57. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved October 17, 2024.


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