[1] Norton first joined the government in 1934, when he became deputy general manager of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation.

He later went on to serve as assistant to the chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and director of the Office of Transport and Communications in the State Department.

In the early 1950s, he worked for Donald A. Quarles, the Secretary of the Air Force, in research and development.

[7] In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Norton to succeed James H. Smith Jr. as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR),[8] and he would serve in this office from July 7, 1956, until February 5, 1959.

[7] In 1943, Norton was married to Emily McMullan, who trained as a surgical nurse and served in World War II.