Caspar Weinberger: Reagan's Defense Secretary Dies at 88

Caspar Weinberger was the U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1981 to 1987. Born on August 18, 1917, in San Francisco, he served in the California State Assembly and chaired the Federal Trade Commission.

He directed the Office of Management and Budget and served as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Presidents Nixon and Ford, earning the nickname "Cap the Knife" for cost-cutting. Under Reagan he oversaw the peacetime military buildup of the 1980s.

Weinberger was indicted in the Iran-Contra affair, and President George H. W. Bush pardoned him in December 1992 before trial. He married Jane Dalton in 1942 and had two children. He died of complications of pneumonia in Bangor, Maine, on March 28, 2006, at age 88.

Achievements: Secretary of Defense (1981-1987), Secretary of HEW (1973-1975).

Birth: August 18, 1917 - San Francisco, California.

Profession: Government official.

Interesting Facts: He later served as publisher of Forbes magazine.