Russell E. Train ’41

On Sept. 17, 2012, we lost our distinguished classmate Russ Train, who died on his farm in Bozman, Md. Russ was one of the most highly regarded American conservationists of the past century.

He prepared at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. He majored in economics at Princeton and graduated with honors. He was a member of Terrace Club and Whig-Clio, and served as treasurer of the Polo Association.

After serving in the Army in World War II and graduating from Columbia Law School, Russ became an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, then clerk of the House Ways and Means Committee. He next was appointed assistant to the secretary of the Treasury, with responsibility for legal tax matters.

In 1957, President Eisenhower appointed Russ a judge of the U.S. Tax Court. In 1961, he founded the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation, and in 1965 he resigned from the tax court to become president of the Conservation Foundation.

In 1969, he became undersecretary of the Interior and then administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1978, Russ joined the World Wildlife Fund’s U.S. affiliate as president, then chairman and chairman emeritus. In 1991, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.

Russ is survived by Aileen Bowdoin Train, his wife of 58 years; four children, Emily, Nancy, Charles, and Errol; and 12 grandchildren.