William Ruckelshaus

Bill Ruckelshaus
1st and 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
In office May 15, 1983 – February 7, 1985
President	Ronald Reagan
Deputy	Alvin L. Alm
Preceded by	Anne Gorsuch Burford
Succeeded by	Lee M. Thomas
In office December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Deputy	Robert W. Fri
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Russell E. Train
13th United States Deputy Attorney General
In office July 9, 1973 – October 20, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Joseph Tyree Sneed III
Succeeded by	Laurence Silberman
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Acting April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	L. Patrick Gray (acting)
Succeeded by	Clarence M. Kelley
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
In office January 20, 1969 – December 4, 1970
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Edwin L. Weisl Jr.
Succeeded by	L. Patrick Gray
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 26th district
In office November 9, 1966 – November 6, 1968
Preceded by	Multi-member district[1]
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	William Doyle Ruckelshaus (1932-07-24)July 24, 1932 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died	November 27, 2019(2019-11-27) (aged 87) Medina, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Ellen Urban ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 1961)​ Jill Strickland ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	5
Relatives	John C. Ruckelshaus (brother) John Ruckelshaus (nephew)
Education	Princeton University (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015) Seattle Aquarium Medal (2004)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1953–1955
Rank	Sergeant

William Doyle Ruckelshaus (July 24, 1932 – November 27, 2019) was an American attorney and government official.

Ruckelshaus served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1966 to 1968, and was the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division from 1969 to 1970. He was also the first Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1970 to 1973, after being nominated by Richard Nixon. He returned to the position from 1983 to 1985, as the fifth Administrator of the EPA, during the Reagan administration. In 1973, he was also the acting FBI Director.

While serving as US Deputy Attorney General in October 1973, in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre,"^[2] Ruckelshaus and US Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned from their positions rather than obey the order of US President Richard Nixon to fire the independent special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, who was tasked with investigating Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal.