page_title: Ray Lyman Wilbur
section_title: Secretary of the Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Ray Lyman Wilbur / Secretary of the Interior
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur holding silver spike railroad tie and hammer from Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam) construction scene
context_page_description: Ray Lyman Wilbur was an American medical doctor who served as the third president of Stanford University and was the 31st United States Secretary of the Interior.
context_section_description: On March 5, 1929, President Hoover nominated Wilbur as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior confirmed by the Senate, and assumed office the same day. His tenure ended on March 4, 1933, as Hoover left office.
  As Interior Secretary, Wilbur addressed corruption in granting contracts for naval oil reserves, which had caused controversy during the Harding administration's Teapot Dome scandal. Wilbur promulgated a policy that no new oil leases would be granted to private individuals except when mandated by law.
  Wilbur was criticized by political opponents for his allocation of power from Boulder Dam to private utilities. Opponents also criticized him for renaming the dam Hoover Dam.
  Wilbur took a particular interest in Native Americans while in office and reorganized the department's Bureau of Indian Affairs. He assisted Native Americans in working to become more self-reliant.
caption: Wilbur visits Boulder Dam (c. 1930)
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "1207", "Image ImageLength": "1536", "Image BitsPerSample": "8", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "1", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "1", "Image XResolution": "1200", "Image YResolution": "1200", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2013:02:12 13:52:07", "Image Artist": "Library of Congress", "Image ExifOffset": "268", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "406", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5814", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1149", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1488"}