Charles Spofford

Charles Merville Spofford CBE (November 17, 1902 – March 23, 1991) was an American lawyer who held posts in NATO and on the boards of numerous arts organizations.

[2] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1924, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, and Harvard Law School in 1928.

[1] He proposed to John D. Rockefeller III what would become the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1956 and served as president of the Metropolitan Opera Association from 1946 to 1950.

With his financial background and experience as a lawyer, along with his ability to speak French, he was assigned to Allied Force Headquarters in Algiers as an advisor on economic and supply issues.

[5] He earned the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre and Order of the British Empire.