Charles Aubrey Eaton was born on March 29, 1868 on a farm near Pugwash, Nova Scotia.

[2][1] After his graduation from Newton Theological Institution, Eaton served as a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Natick, Massachusetts.

It also influenced that of another well-known Canadian who went on to have an outstanding career in the United States, his nephew, Cyrus S. Eaton.

[5][6] However, his ability to work well with both Republicans and Democrats would prompt presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman to frequently invite "Doc" Eaton, as he was sometimes known, to the White House as an informal advisor.

[7] On June 26, 1945, appointed by President Roosevelt, Eaton was one of the signers of the original United Nations Charter, the international organization's foundational treaty, in San Francisco, California.

[9] With a Democratic president (Harry S. Truman) and a Republican Congress, and with the influence of economic aid in foreign policy, the chairmanship was a powerful post.

Eaton's leadership was at times strongly challenged by the neo-isolationist group in the House, but he achieved the passage of every piece of legislation that he sponsored, including continuation of United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), a program of aid to Greece and Turkey (the Truman Doctrine), and the Marshall Plan.

President Truman gave testimony in his memoirs to Eaton for his bipartisan support of American foreign policy.

[1] Twenty days after his retirement from Congress, Eaton died in Washington, D.C., and was interred in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.