Basic Information
Name: Dean Gooderham Acheson
Nickname: D-D Ache, Dry Dean Acheson (He wasn't exactly known for his sense of humor, but he was definitely witty.)
Born: April 11, 1893
Died: October 12, 1971
Nationality: American
Hometown: Middletown, Connecticut
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Undersecretary of State, Secretary of State; Formal or Informal Advisor to: FDR, Harry Truman, LBJ, JFK, Richard Nixon
Education: Groton (Preparatory School), Yale, Harvard Law
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Edward Campion Acheson and Eleanor Gertrude Gooderham
Spouse: Alice Caroline Stanley
Children: David Campion Acheson, Jane Acheson Brown, Eleanor Acheson Bundy
Friends: Felix Frankfurter (Former professor turned Supreme Court Justice), FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, George Marshall, Oliver Franks; Later years—JFK, LBJ
Foes: Joseph Stalin, Joseph McCarthy, Robert Taft, Louis Johnson, Richard Nixon (They became cool after Nixon was elected. Nixon sometimes even called him for advice).
Analysis
Dean Acheson: one of our most beloved historical figures and Cold War heroes today, right?
(Confession: it's totally okay for you to be looking confused right now and asking "Dean Who?" because most people don't know who he is either. But we're here to fix that.)
As Undersecretary of State, Dean Acheson was a primary author of two of the most important texts in early Cold War history—the official Marshall Plan legislation and our own Truman Doctrine. In some ways, the names of both texts could be replaced with "Acheson," especially if you want to give a proper shout-out to the guy who wrote and reviewed the most drafts of each. (Note: this is also the person who suggested not mentioning the Soviet Union by name in the speech because it would limit the document's power if some other threat with a different name emerged. Smart, huh?)
Acheson was probably the most influential advisor in Truman's cabinet. They saw each other at least twice a week and talked on the phone almost every day, for goodness' sake. (They probably also ate brunch together, checked each others' outfits before they went out, and played M*A*S*H*. It was an epic bromance.)
His staunch views on foreign policy in particular had an effect on Truman, and can be seen in both the president's doctrine as well as Truman's decision to send troops to Korea. Both men understood the gravity of the Soviet threat and, as Acheson put it, they saw their recommendations as defining not just U.S. policy, but "world" policy for the Cold War in which the world was now engaged. (Source)
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw: super smart and dedicated to his work, reserved/not necessarily the life of the party, somewhat eccentric appearance (giant mustache).