Wilbur J. Cohen

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Wilbur Joseph Cohen (June 10, 1913–May 17, 1987), was an American politician born in Milwaukee. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1934 he moved to Washington, D.C. He was a research assistant for the committee that drafted the Social Security Act. From 1968 to 1969 he was U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

He was noted for several nicknames. He was once dubbed "The Man Who Built Medicare" and John F. Kennedy tagged him "Mr. Social Security." The New York Times called him "one of the country's foremost technicians in public welfare." Time portrayed him as a man of "boundless energy, infectious enthusiasm, and a drive for action." He was a leading expert on Social Security and a member of Americans for Democratic Action.

Cohen was one of the key architects in the creation and expansion of the American welfare state being involved the creation of both the New Deal and Great Society programs.

The University of Michigan has a professorship named the "Wilbur J. Cohen Collegiate Professor of Social Work." He died in Seoul, South Korea in 1987.

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Preceded by
John W. Gardner		 United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
1968–1969		 Succeeded by
Robert H. Finch
United States Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare Seal of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Hobby • Folsom • Flemming • Ribicoff • Celebrezze • Gardner • Cohen • Finch • Richardson • Weinberger • Mathews • Califano • Harris
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