Louis Patrick
Gray III was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July
18, 1916. He attended schools in St. Louis and
Houston, Texas. After attending Rice University
for a period, Mr. Gray enrolled at the United States
Naval Academy and received a Bachelor of Science
degree in 1940. The Navy commissioned Mr. Gray
as a line officer and he served throughout World
War II and the Korean War.
In 1949, between
his two tours of duty, Mr. Gray received a J.D.
degree from George Washington University Law School.
He was admitted to practice before the Washington
D.C. Bar in 1949; later he was admitted to practice
law by the Connecticut State Bar, the United States
Military Court of Appeals, the United States Court
of Appeals, the United States Court of Claims,
and the United States Supreme Court. After retiring
from the Navy in 1960 with the rank of Captain,
Mr. Gray served as Military Assistant to the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1961, he entered
private practice.
In the late 1960s,
Mr. Gray returned to the federal government and
worked in the Nixon administration in several different
positions. In 1970, President Nixon appointed Mr.
Gray as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil
Division in the Department of Justice. In 1972,
Mr. Gray was appointed Deputy Attorney General
but before he could be confirmed by the full Senate,
his nomination was withdrawn. Instead, President
Nixon designated him as Acting Director of the
FBI. Gray served in this position for less than
a year.