Paul Rand Dixon

Dixon was born September 29, 1913, in Nashville, Tennessee, to James and Sarah Dixon.{{Cite news|date=1996-05-07|title=Obituary for Paul Rand Dixon (Aged 82)|pages=27|work=The Tennessean|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66845103/obituary-for-paul-rand-dixon-aged-82/|access-date=2021-09-12}} He received his bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.[http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/history/oralhistory.shtm Federal Trade Commission: Oral Histories]

Dixon was a member of the FTC's staff from 1930 to 1957, except for his three years of service in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. While in the Navy, Dixon would reach the rank of lieutenant commander. Between 1957 and 1961, Dixon served as counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee, where he worked with Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN).[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Summaries/col_dixon_paul.htm Paul Rand(all) Dixon, 1913-1996 - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum]

As FTC Chair, Dixon notably led the successful fight in 1965 to mandate cigarette companies to include health warnings on their products.{{Cite news|last=Shanahan|first=Eileen|date=1965-03-30|title=F.T.C. TO REQUIRE CIGARETTE LABEL; Agency Head Cites Power to Order Health Warning|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/30/archives/ftc-to-require-cigarette-label-agency-head-cites-power-to-order.html|access-date=2021-09-12|issn=0362-4331}} The push began following a report by the Surgeon General on the carcinogenic qualities of tobacco, which led Dixon himself to stop smoking.{{Cite web|last=kadlerabramson|title=Newly Opened Collection: Paul Rand Dixon Personal Papers – ARCHIVALLY SPEAKING: An Inside Look at the JFK Library Archives|date=20 July 2015|url=https://archiveblog.jfklibrary.org/2015/07/newly-opened-collection-paul-rand-dixon-personal-papers/|access-date=2021-09-12|language=en-US}}

During his time as an FTC Commissioner, Dixon developed a reputation as a "colorful and often controversial member" with "almost legendary wit and candor". In 1978, he was praised at a reception for his longtime service to the agency by then-FTC Chair Michael Pertschuk, who said:{{Cite news|title=FTC Salutes Paul Dixon's 40 Years Of Service|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1978/07/24/ftc-salutes-paul-dixons-40-years-of-service/08751b99-bc7a-4e53-94a3-4342f008a5a7/|access-date=2021-09-12|issn=0190-8286}}

"Paul Band [sic] Dixon can follow a trial of greed and abuse of market power by instinct to its source, and his heart and vote are consistently with the consummer [sic]"

Dixon was a Methodist, and attended the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Dixon died on May 2, 1996, at the age of 82, having outlived his wife, Doris Evelyn (née Busby). Dixon was survived by his two sons, Paul Jr. and David.

In 2014 a famous dictum of his, from a ruling in a multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme case, "an intolerable potential to deceive," was newly immortalized in the title of a book, Downline... an intolerable potential to deceive, by E. Robert Smith.[http://www.amway79challenged.com Author's website for the book.] The FTC has awarded the "Paul Rand Dixon Award" in his honor to individuals within the agency who have displayed strong character and commitment to antitrust enforcement.{{Cite web|date=2007-04-16|title=Chairman Announces Appointments and Promotions|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2007/04/chairman-announces-appointments-and-promotions|access-date=2021-09-12|website=Federal Trade Commission|language=en}}

• List of former FTC commissioners

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/history/oralhistory.shtm Dixon's historical profile]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090419130043/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841864,00.html Time article about Dixon from April 1965]
• [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Summaries/col_dixon_paul.htm Harvard University profile]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100717034823/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829014,00.html 1962 article about Dixon]

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