John Gorham Palfrey (academic)

He died on October 28, 1979, at age 60 in Boston. His son, Sean Palfrey, married Judith Palfrey. Both of them are professors of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, respectively. His grandson, John Palfrey, served on the faculty of Harvard Law School and was the head of school of Phillips Academy. He is currently the President of the MacArthur Foundation. His other grandson, Quentin Palfrey, currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce and was a Democratic candidate in the 2018 Massachusetts election for lieutenant governor.

Palfrey joined the Columbia faculty in 1952, becoming a full professor in 1956. He was appointed dean of the undergraduate liberal arts college before being appointed by President Kennedy to serve on the Atomic Energy Commission, and remained in that position under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1942, Palfrey married Clochette Roosevelt, a granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt and a daughter of Kermit Roosevelt. Their wedding was attended by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Palfrey was born in Beacon Hill, Boston, and graduated from Milton Academy and Harvard College in 1940, where he was classmates with John F. Kennedy. He was a great-grandson of Massachusetts Congressman John G. Palfrey and the first dean of Harvard Divinity School. His grandfather, Francis Winthrop Palfrey, was an American historian and Civil War officer. His family is descended from William Palfrey, who served in the American Revolutionary War as aide-de-camp to George Washington.

John Gorham Palfrey (March 12, 1919 – October 28, 1979) was an American academic, administrator, and government official. He was a professor at law at Columbia University and served as dean of Columbia College from 1958 to 1962. He also served on the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1962 to 1966.