Paul Rand Dixon

Paul Rand Dixon (29 September 1913 - 2 May 1996)^[1] was a decorated World War II veteran, chairman and commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States from 1961 to 1969 and again briefly in 1976.^[2][3] After his chairmanship, Dixon continued to serve as a commissioner of the FTC until 1981.^[4] Dixon was on the FTC staff from 1930 to 1957, except for Naval service during World War II. Between 1957 and 1961, Dixon served as counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee.^[5] Dixon served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-1945. He eventually earned the rank of lieutenant commander. In 2014 a famous dictum of his, from a ruling in a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme case, "an intolerable potential to deceive," was newly immortalized in the title of a book, Downline... an intolerable potential to deceive, by E. Robert Smith.^[6]

Education[]

Dixon received his bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.^[7]

See also[]

• List of former FTC commissioners

References[]

External links[]

• Dixon's historical profile
• Time article about Dixon from April 1965
• Harvard University profile
• 1962 article about Dixon