View source for Cary T. Grayson

{{Short description|US Navy admiral and physician to the US President}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name= Cary Travers Grayson
|birth_date= {{birth date|1878|10|11}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1938|2|15|1878|10|11}}
|birth_place= [[Salubria]], [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpepper County]], [[Virginia]], U.S.
|death_place= [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
|resting_place= [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|image= Cary T. Grayson, M.D.jpg
|office       = [[Physician to the President]]
|president    = [[Woodrow Wilson]]
|term_start   = 1913
|term_end     = 1921
|predecessor  = ''position established''
|successor    = [[Charles E. Sawyer]]
|nickname= John. C Lucas
|allegiance= {{flag|United States|1928}}
|branch= {{nowrap|[[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|30px|United States Navy Seal]]}} [[United States Navy]]
|serviceyears= 1904–1928
|rank= [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]]
|servicenumber=
|commands=
|unit=
|battles=
|awards= [[National Order of the Legion of Honor]], [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]]
}}
'''Cary Travers Grayson''' (October 11, 1878 – February 15, 1938) was a surgeon in the [[United States Navy]] who served a variety of roles from personal aide to [[President of the United States|President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] to chairman of the [[American Red Cross]].
==Career==
Grayson was born to Dr. John Cooke Grayson (a descendant of American [[George Mason]], one of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|American Founding Fathers]]) and Frances Adelena Pettus at [[Salubria]], the Grayson family estate in [[Culpeper County, Virginia]].<ref name="Cabell"/><ref>Wright, Willard Hull. ''40 Years of Tropical Medicine Research: A History of the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, Inc. and the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory.'' Baltimore: Reeves Press, 1970.</ref><ref name="Grimmett">Grimmett, Richard F. ''St. John's Church, Lafayette Square: The History and Heritage of the Church of the Presidents, Washington, DC.'' Washington, D.C.: Hillcrest Publishing Group, 2009. {{ISBN|1-934248-53-3}}</ref> He graduated [[Phi Beta Kappa]] with a [[bachelor's degree]] from the [[College of William and Mary]] in 1898.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin">Levin, Phyllis Lee. ''Edith and Woodrow: The Wilson White House.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7432-1158-8}}</ref> He studied for three years at the [[Medical College of Virginia]] before leaving to attend the [[University of the South]].<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin"/> After a year there, he received his M.D. as well as his Doctor of Pharmacy.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin"/><ref name="Dying">[[Robert Hugh Ferrell|Ferrell, Robert H.]] ''[[The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945]].'' Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-8262-1171-2}}</ref> He interned for a year at [[Columbia Hospital for Women]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Deppsich">Deppisch, Ludwig M. ''The White House Physician: A History From Washington to George W. Bush.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2007. {{ISBN|0-7864-2976-3}}</ref>
After completing his medical studies, Grayson was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon on July 14, 1903.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Deppsich"/> He served at the U.S. Navy Hospital in [[Washington, D.C.]], continuing to study at U.S. Navy Medical School (from which he graduated in 1904).<ref name="Grimmett"/> He received a second M.D. from the [[Medical College of Virginia]] in 1904.<ref name="Grimmett"/> His studies complete, for two and a half years he served aboard the ''[[USS Maryland (ACR-8)|USS Maryland]]'' while it was deployed overseas.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin"/><ref name="Deppsich"/>
In 1907, he was assigned to the Navy's [[Bureau of Medicine and Surgery]] and appointed Naval surgeon aboard the ''Mayflower,'' the presidential yacht of President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin"/><ref name="Deppsich"/> He continued in this role during the entire [[William Howard Taft]] administration as well.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Levin"/><ref name="Deppsich"/>
While attending a dinner party in March 1913, Grayson aided President Woodrow Wilson's injured sister and quickly became a close confidant of the new president, who had grown up in the South.<ref name="Levin"/><ref name="Dying"/><ref name="Deppsich"/><ref name="IllAdvised">[[Robert Hugh Ferrell|Ferrell, Robert H.]] ''[[Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust]].'' Reprint ed. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-8262-1065-1}}</ref> In 1915, after the death of Wilson's first wife, Grayson introduced Wilson to [[Edith Bolling Galt Wilson|Edith Bolling Galt]], who became his second wife.<ref name="Grimmett"/><ref name="Dying"/><ref name="Deppsich"/>
Grayson's close personal relationship with Woodrow Wilson led to his commission as a [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] on August 29, 1916. "This rapid promotion of Dr. Grayson from Passed Assistant Surgeon with the rank of Lieutenant to Medical Director to the rank of Rear Admiral was unprecedented and was due to his position as White House Physician."<ref>Braisted, William C. and Bell, William Hemphill. ''The Life Story of Presley Marion Rixey, Surgeon General, U.S. Navy 1902–1910: Biography and Autobiography.'' Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1930. Republished by Kessinger Publishing, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4286-5334-1}}. p. 390.</ref> Grayson resided in the [[White House]]. He accompanied Wilson and stayed near him while he attended peace talks in Paris in 1919.<ref name="Deppsich"/>
Grayson was involved in the conspiracy to hide the severity of Woodrow Wilson's October 1919 [[stroke]] from members of the government and from the public. Some historians have strongly criticized Grayson's actions, while others have supported them. "While one might excuse Mrs. Wilson's actions on the grounds of wifely loyalty, Grayson's behavior during these days exceeded the bounds of physician responsibility. Grayson was using the office of the president of the United States as therapy of his patient."<ref>Crispell, Kenneth R. and Gomez, Carlos F. ''Hidden Illness in the White House.'' 2d ed. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-8223-0839-8}} p. 72.</ref>
More of Grayson's documents were donated by his family to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library (Staunton Virginia) in 2006. Researchers have found that these shed more light on the events that took place.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/02/AR2007020201698.html Chandler, Michael Alison. "A President's Illness Kept Under Wraps." ''Washington Post.'' February 3, 2007.] Accessed 2012-01-04.</ref>
After Wilson left office in 1921, the Navy assigned Grayson to the U.S. Naval Dispensary. From this position, he continued to attend to Wilson's health.<ref name="Dying"/>
[[File:Birthday-Ball-Check-May-1934.jpg|thumb|right|200px|As chair of the national event, Grayson presents FDR with a $1 million check constituting the proceeds of the first [[March of Dimes|President's Birthday Ball]] to benefit the fight against [[poliomyelitis|polio]] (May 1934)]]
==Later years==
Admiral Grayson retired from the Navy in 1928. He was chair of the inaugural committee for Democratic president [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1933 and 1937. He served as chairman of the [[American Red Cross]] from 1935 until his death from cardiovascular disease in 1938.<ref name="Cabell"/><ref name="Deppsich"/> Grayson was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdncmF5c29uEgRjYXJ5Ggd0cmF2ZXJz/ Burial Detail: Grayson, Cary Travers] – ANC Explorer</ref>
==Awards==
Before transferring to the Retired List on December 20, 1928, Admiral Grayson received the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] for exceptionally meritorious service as aide and physician to President Wilson. He was also made [[Commander]] of the [[National Order of the Legion of Honor]] by the French government for his service to Wilson during the peace talks after World War I.<ref name="Cabell"/><ref name="Deppsich"/>
==Personal life==
Grayson married the former Alice Gertrude Gordon on May 24, 1916, and the couple had three children: James Gordon Grayson; Cary Travers Grayson, Jr.; and William Cabell Grayson. <ref name="Cabell">Cabell, Randolph Wall. ''20th Century Cabells and Their Kin.'' Franklin, N.C.: Genealogy Publishing Service, 1993.</ref><ref>Caperton, Helena Lefroy. ''The Social Record of Virginia.'' Richmond, Va.: The Social Record of Virginia, 1937.</ref> The couple lived at Highlands, a large home on [[Wisconsin Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Wisconsin Avenue NW]].
It was purchased and the larger property developed by the [[Sidwell Friends School]]. The house serves as its administration building. Other parts of the property have been developed as buildings for the [[Sidwell Friends School]], Hearst Elementary School, and [[Fannie Mae]].
==Blue Ridge Farm==
[[File:Grayson on horse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Grayson on horseback in 1920]]
{{main|Blue Ridge Farm (Upperville, Virginia)}}
An avid horseman involved in the sport of [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing]], in 1928 Grayson purchased [[Blue Ridge Farm (Upperville, Virginia)|Blue Ridge Farm]]. This is a [[horse breeding]] operation in [[Upperville, Virginia]]. Among his successful horses, [[Fluvanna (horse)|Fluvanna]] was voted the retrospective [[American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly]]. In the year of his death, Grayson bred the [[mare (horse)|mare]] On Hand to [[Kentucky Derby]] winner [[Brokers Tip]] to produce [[Market Wise]]. The colt went on to become a multiple stakes winner and the 1943 [[Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse|U.S. Co-champion Handicap Horse]].
Blue Ridge Farm remains owned by the Grayson family. It was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
==Namesake==
The {{USS|Grayson|DD-435}}, a [[Gleaves class destroyer|''Gleaves''-class]] [[destroyer]] was named in his honor.
Grayson Avenue in [[Mercerville, New Jersey]] 08619 is said to be named in his honor, {{Circa|1928}}.
{{Portal|Biography}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
:{{DANFS}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Cary T. Grayson}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040308155023/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g8/grayson.htm History.navy.mil: USS ''Grayson'']
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{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=''N/A''}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Physician to the President]]|years=1913–1921}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles E. Sawyer]]}}
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{{S-start}}
{{S-npo}}
{{Succession box |
before=[[John Barton Payne]] |
title=Chairman of the <br />[[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|International League of <br />Red Cross Societies]] |
years=1935–1938 |
after=[[Norman Davis (diplomat)|Norman Davis]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayson, Cary Travers}}
[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American naval officers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:United States Navy rear admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War I admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:People from Culpeper County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Virginia]]
[[Category:United States presidential advisors]]
[[Category:American Red Cross personnel]]
[[Category:Presidents of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]]
[[Category:American racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:College of William & Mary alumni]]
[[Category:Sewanee: The University of the South alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Physicians to the President of the United States]]
[[Category:Woodrow Wilson administration personnel]]
[[Category:United States Navy Medical Corps officers]]