Kingman Brewster, Jr. (1919-1988) served as president of Yale University from 1963 to 1977, greatly broadening the base of that university's student body and strengthening Yale's ties to the community. He then served as ambassador to Great Britain for four years.

Kingman Brewster, Jr., was born June 17, 1919, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to Kingman Brewster and Florence Besse Brewster, descendants of one of the state's first families. Following graduation from Belmont High School, Brewster entered Yale in 1937 and graduated with an A.B. in 1941. As a student he was an isolationist and a supporter of "America First" and once invited Charles Lindburgh to speak on campus. In 1942 he married Mary Louise Phillips. The couple had three boys and two girls. During World War II he served as a Navy fighter pilot and was discharge a lieutenant in 1946. He then entered Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1948. During the next two...