A lawyer and social reformer, Oscar Chapman (1896–1978) was manager of two successful senatorial campaigns before coming to the nation's capital from Denver, Colorado, at the start of the New Deal. He served as Interior's assistant secretary and under secretary (renamed deputy secretary) before being appointed secretary. He is the only person ever to hold all three positions. In serving through President Truman's second term—a total of 20 years at Interior—Chapman made unprecedented strides in reclamation and laid the groundwork for Alaska and Hawai‘i statehood, as well as for construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Portraitist Alfred Jonniaux (1882–1974) fled his native Belgium during World War II and became a U.S. citizen in 1946. He established studios in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.