James Rodney Schlesinger was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He became Americas first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter.
James Rodney Schlesinger was born in New York City, the son of Jewish parents, Rhea Lillian and Julius Schlesinger. His mother was a Lithuanian emigrant from what was then part of the Russian Empire and his father was of Austrian Jewish descent. He converted to Lutheranism in his early 20s. Schlesinger was educated at the Horace Mann School and Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. , M.A. , and Ph.D. in economics. Between 1955 and 1963 he taught economics at the University of Virginia and in 1960 published The Political Economy of National Security. In 1963, he moved to the Rand Corporation, where he worked until 1969, in the later years as director of strategic studies.
Source: Wikipedia