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About the Collection
William Warren Scranton was born on July 19, 1917, in Madison, Connecticut. His ancestors were New England colonial settlers, founders of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and prominent Pennsylvania businessmen with interests in iron and coal--the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company--as well as utilities, and banking. The family were early Republican Party supporters and elected representatives. He attended private day school, preparatory schools in New England, and Yale University, receiving a B.A. in 1939. He entered Yale Law School in 1939, and completed his law training after World War II. Scranton enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941 and served from 1942 to 1945 as an Air Transport Command pilot in the South Atlantic area and Africa.