Attorney, Educator and Public Servant. Appointed by President John F. Kennedy, he served as Internal Revenue Service Commissioner from January 1961 to July 1964. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Virginia, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Raven Society, an honor society founded in 1904 and named in honor of poet Edgar Allen Poe. He graduated first in his class with Order of the Coif honors from the University of Virginia Law School and earned his Doctorate of Juridical Science from New York University. He also held honorary doctorates from Washington College, the University of South Carolina, and Saint Michael's College. He served as law clerk to United States Circuit Judge Armistead M. Dobie, and practiced law in New York City from 1941 to 1950. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, where he participated in the Invasion of Normandy and was part of the initial landing force on Omaha Beach, for which he was awarded the French Legion of Honor. He returned to the University of Virginia in 1950 as a professor of law, specializing in tax and corporate law. Following President Kennedy's election, he served on the President's Task Force of Taxation, and in January 1961 he was appointed Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. During his tenure, he helped tighten tax law administration, built the IRS's public image, implemented a nationwide centralized computer system with a basic taxpayer master file, and was the first commissioner to host a US President at the IRS building. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine, who credited him for influencing Kennedy's tax proposals. He resigned in July of 1964 to form the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale Chartered, where he utilized his vast experience with the United States Treasury Department, the United States Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the tax committees of the United States Congress. He taught law at The George Washington Law School from 1965 to 1966 and at the University of Miami School of Law from 1967 to 1970. He served as Trustee for many charitable and educational organizations, and on multiple board of directors. He had a passion for the arts and served for ten years as Chair of the UVA Council of Arts. He donated $4 million to the University of Virginia to help build the Ruth Chaplin Theater, named in honor of his wife. He received numerous awards, including the Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Award and the Thomas Jefferson Medal in Law from the University of Virginia. He was honored by the American Bar Association at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and by the Maryland General Assembly which issued an official citation in honor of his appointment as Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. Upon leaving government service, he was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award conferred by the Secretary of the Treasury.