Frederick Andrew Seaton, who was born in 1909 in Washington, D.C., returned to the national capitol to serve as a senator from Nebraska, as an assistant secretary of defense and as secretary of interior.
Seaton was raised in Manhattan, Kansas, where his father was in the newspaper publishing business. Seaton attended Kansas State University and was involved in radio broadcasting and in newspaper work.
From 1931 to 1937 Seaton was associate editor and business manager for Seaton Publications of Manhattan and later was a partner in the company. In 1937 he became publisher and general manager of the Hastings (Nebraska) Daily Tribune.
During the years before Seaton began his career in Washington, D.C., he was active in local and state affairs relating to agriculture, conservation, higher education, and politics, as well as various radio and press organizations. Continuing in his early interest in radio, Seaton became director-owner of KHAS Radio in Hastings and he also owned radio stations in Manhattan and Coffeyville, Kansas. Later, he owned KHAS-TV and was Nebraska chairman for Radio Free Europe.
Seaton had been active in Republican party politics in Kansas. In 1936 he was secretary to Alfred Landon in his unsuccessful presidential campaign. After coming to Nebraska, Seaton continued his interest in politics. He was a Nebraska state senator for two terms, 1945-47, and 1947-49. During this time he was a member of the Nebraska Judicial Council and later chairman of the Nebraska Legislative Council.
Drawing on his experience in the Landon campaign, Seaton became Nebraska State Chairman for Harold Stassen's unsuccessful 1948 presidential bid and later was an advisor for Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign in 1952.
Seaton was appointed to the U.S. Senate in December, 1951 by Governor Val Peterson and served one year. After working for the Eisenhower campaign, Seaton was appointed assistant secretary of defense by Eisenhower in 1953. The next year Eisenhower appointed Seaton secretary of interior, and he held this position through 1961. During this time Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to statehood. Seaton later served as chairman of the Timber and Environment Committee in 1973 for President Richard Nixon. Seaton received the Presidential Medal of Honor for his work in the Department of Defense.
After returning to Hastings, Seaton continued to be active nationally in the Republican Party, where he was a member of the speakers bureau of the Republican National Committee.
Besides the Tribune newspaper at Hastings, Seaton owned seven other newspapers in Nebraska and Kansas. He received the Master Publisher-Editor Award given by the Nebraska Press Association.
Seaton was a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Nebraska Foundation, and was a Hastings College trustee for thirty-three years. He provided funds for the Dorothea Elizabeth Seaton Chapel at Hastings College, and gave scholarships at the University of Nebraska and at Kansas State University.
Fred Seaton died on January 16, 1974 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.