Robert E. Freer

Robert Elliott Freer (January 30, 1896 – January 6, 1963)^[1] was an Ohio attorney who served as chair of the Federal Trade Commission from January 1, 1939, to December 31, 1939, again from January 1, 1944, to December 31, 1944, and a third time from January 1, 1948, to December 31, 1948.^[2]

Education, military service, and career[]

Born in Madisonville, Cincinnati, Ohio, Freer received an LL.B. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1917, and entered the practice of law in Cincinnati that same year.^[3] He served in the United States Army during World War II in the 324th Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to France.^[4]

In 1925, he became an attorney with the Bureau of Valuation within the Interstate Commerce Commission. He received an LL.M. from the Washington College of Law in 1929.^[3] In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Freer as a Republican member of the FTC.^[1] Freer was reappointed to the FTC by President Harry S. Truman in 1948, but resigned later that year to return to the practice of law.^[1]

In 1960, Freer returned to government service as a hearing examiner for the Federal Power Commission^[1]

Personal life and death[]

On October 28, 1919, Freer married Hazel Louise Davis,^[4] with whom he had two sons and two daughters.^[1]

Freer died of multiple myeloma at the age of 66,^[1] and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "R. E. Freer, Ex-Chairman of FTC, Dies", Chicago Tribune (January 7, 1963), p. 42.
^ List of Commissioners, Chairwomen, and Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission: 1915-2018 (as of November 2018).
^ ^a ^b The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Vol. 1 (1958), p. 743.
^ ^a ^b "R. E. Freer Wins Bride", The Cincinnati Enquirer (October 29, 1919), p. 7.

Political offices
Preceded by Garland S. Ferguson Garland S. Ferguson Garland S. Ferguson	Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission 1939–1939 1944–1944 1948–1948	Succeeded by Ewin L. Davis Ewin L. Davis Lowell B. Mason

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[Obit-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "R. E. Freer, Ex-Chairman of FTC, Dies", Chicago Tribune (January 7, 1963), p. 42.

[FTC-2] List of Commissioners, Chairwomen, and Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission: 1915-2018 (as of November 2018).

[Martindale-3] The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Vol. 1 (1958), p. 743.

[Bride-4] "R. E. Freer Wins Bride", The Cincinnati Enquirer (October 29, 1919), p. 7.

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v Chairs of the Federal Trade Commission
Member-selected (1915–1950)	Joseph E. Davies (1915–1916) • Edward N. Hurley (1916–1917) • William J. Harris (1917–1918) • William Byron Colver (1918–1919) • John Franklin Fort (1919) • Victor Murdock (1919–1920) • Samuel Huston Thompson (1920–1921) • Nelson B. Gaskill (1921–1922) • Victor Murdock (1922–1923) • Samuel Huston Thompson (1923–1924) • Vernon W. Van Fleet (1924–1925) • John F. Nugent (1925–1926) • Charles W. Hunt (1926–1927) • William E. Humphrey (1927–1928) • Abram F. Myers (1928–1929) • Edgar A. McCulloch (1929) • Garland S. Ferguson (1930) • Charles W. Hunt (1931) • William E. Humphrey (1932) • Charles H. March (1933) • Garland S. Ferguson (1934) • Ewin L. Davis (1935) • Charles H. March (1936) • William Augustus Ayres (1937) • Garland S. Ferguson (1938) • Robert E. Freer (1939) • Ewin L. Davis (1940) • Charles H. March (1941) • William Augustus Ayres (1942) • Garland S. Ferguson (1943) • Robert E. Freer (1944) • Ewin L. Davis (1945) • William Augustus Ayres (1946) • Garland S. Ferguson (1947) • Robert E. Freer (1948) • Lowell B. Mason (1949–1950)
Presidential appointments (1950–present) Acting chairs italicized	James M. Mead (1950–1953) • Edward F. Howrey (1953–1955) • John W. Gwynne (1955–1959) • Earl W. Kintner (1959–1961) • Paul Rand Dixon (1961–1969) • Caspar Weinberger (1970–1970) • Everette MacIntyre (1970–1973) • Lewis A. Engman (1973–1975) • Paul Rand Dixon (1976) • Calvin J. Collier (1976–1977) • Michael Pertschuk (1977–1981) • David A. Clanton (1981) • James C. Miller III (1981–1985) • Terry Calvani (1985–1986) • Daniel Oliver (1986–1989) • Janet Dempsey Steiger (1989–1995) • Robert Pitofsky (1995–2001) • Timothy Muris (2001–2004) • Deborah Platt Majoras (2004–2008) • William Kovacic (2008–2009) • Jon Leibowitz (2009–2013) • Edith Ramirez (2013–2017) • Maureen Ohlhausen (2017–2018) • Joseph Simons (2018–2021) • Rebecca Slaughter (2021) • Lina Khan (2021–present)