C. Douglas Dillon

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Dillon's signature, as used on American currency

Clarence Douglas Dillon (born August 21, 1909 in Geneva, died January 10, 2003 in New York City) son of Clarence and Ann (Douglass) Dillon, was U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France (1953-1957) and 57th secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury (1961-1965). He also was an important member of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. Appointed by Democratic president John Kennedy to the Treasury post, Dillon was himself a Republican. His policies provided for a solid economic expansion and president Lyndon Johnson kept him in his job after Kennedy's assassination.

He was vice president, then director, then chairman of the board of Dillon, Read and Company, co-founded by his father, Clarence Dillon.

The family descends from his grandfather Samuel Lapowski, a poor immigrant from Poland, who changed the family name from Lapowski to Dillon ("Samuel Dillon"). Dillon's mother, Anne Douglass, is descended from Grahams Lairds of Tamrawer Castle at Kilsyth, Stirling, Scotland - see family tree link below.

Dillon served as President of the New York Metropolitan Museum, particularly building up its Chinese galleries. He personally donated $20 million to the museum and led a fundraising campaign that raised an additional $100 million. He was also a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation from 1960 to 1961.

He received the Medal of Freedom in 1989.

He was survived by his 2nd wife and two daughters and lived most recently in Fairfield, CT.