John B. Anderson - Early Life, Education, and Early Career

Early Life, Education, and Early Career

Anderson was born in Rockford, Illinois, where he grew up, the son of Mabel Edna (née Ring) and E. Albin Anderson, a Swedish immigrant. In his youth, he worked in his family's grocery store. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class at Rockford Central High School. He attended the University of Illinois, but his education was interrupted by World War II, when he enlisted in the Army in 1943. He served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Field Artillery until the end of the war, receiving four battle stars. After the war, Anderson returned to complete his education, eventually earning a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1946. He was admitted to the Illinois bar the same year, and practiced law in Rockford.

Soon after, Anderson moved east to attend Harvard Law School, obtaining a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 1949. While at Harvard, he served on the faculty of Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. In another brief return to Rockford, Anderson practiced at the law firm Large, Reno & Zahm (now Reno & Zahm LLP). Thereafter, Anderson joined the Foreign Service. From 1952 to 1955, he served in Berlin as the Economic Reporting Officer in the Eastern Affairs Division, as an adviser on the staff of the United States High Commissioner for Germany. At the end of his tour, he left the foreign service and once again returned to the practice of law in Rockford.