D. Jamison Cain
Office portrait, D. Jamison Cain reviewing typewritten writing in his office at US Postal Service Headquarters, L'Enfant Plaza, Washington DC, ca 1980
Portrait of Cain, c. 1980
Born
David Jamison Cain Jr.

(1926-01-01)January 1, 1926
Sumter, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedApril 12, 2010(2010-04-12) (aged 84)
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeColumbia Gardens Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Occupations
  • Newspaperman
  • government official
  • writer
Known forcoining the phrase "ZIP code" and developing the mascot Mr. ZIP
Military career
Service/branch United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II

David Jamison Cain Jr. (January 1, 1926 – April 12, 2010) was a United States Postal Service employee known for coining the phrase "ZIP code" for the Zone Improvement Plan initiated by the Postal Service in 1963. He also helped develop the Postal Service mascot Mr. ZIP. He was instrumental in developing marketing campaigns in the 1960s to make the ZIP code the universal letter mailing paradigm in the United States.

Early life

David Jamison Cain Jr.[1] was born on January 1, 1926, in Sumter, South Carolina to Mary Ellen "Molly" (née Bowman) and David Jamison "Jimmie" Cain. His father served in World War I and was a banker with the National Bank of South Carolina.[2][3] He attended Edmunds High School and the St. Bernard Preparatory School and College in Cullman, Alabama, majoring in liberal arts. He served in the United States Army during World War II.[1][3][4]

Career

Cain worked for the The State, a newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. He also worked for the Charleston Evening Post and The Camden Chronicle.[4] From 1955 to 1960, Cain worked as the Washington bureau chief for Sims News Bureau, a group that covered news from Washington, D.C. for about 40 newspapers, radio and television stations in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.[4]

Advertisement for Mr. ZIP in May 1963

In March 1961, Cain was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as deputy special assistant to the Postmaster General for public affairs, working under Postmaster General J. Edward Day. In that role, Cain was known for coining the term "ZIP code" to describe the United States Postal Service five-digit Zone Improvement Plan. He was instrumental in devising and implementing the marketing campaign in 1962 that brought the ZIP code into universal use and created the mascot Mr. ZIP. The ZIP code was introduced in July 1, 1963.[4][5][6] Cain used his home address, "3374 N. Dinwiddie St., Arlington, VA 22207", as the return address for Mr. ZIP in the sample letter used in the commercial for the ZIP code. The house was a simple two-story brick Colonial house.[6] In April 1963, he purchased life-size cutouts of Mr. ZIP for postmasters across the country and copyrighted the Disney song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" so the lyrics could be rewritten to promote the ZIP code. Mr. ZIP would be used by the Postal Service until 1983, when it was officially retired.[6] By 1983, Cain was the director of public affairs at the Postal Service.[7]

Cain later worked in support of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, which transformed the Post Office Department from a cabinet-level agency to the United States Postal Service, a state-owned enterprise.[8]

Cain served in the board of directors in 1964 for the South Carolina State Society in Washington.[9] He received a meritorious service award from the Postal Service on July 18, 1967, for "developing promotion programs", including one for the ZIP code.[10] Cain wrote the book Beauty and Wit, a collection of poems, with W. G. Kennedy and Mary Ellen B. Cain in 1983.[7][11] Cain wrote the book How to Show You Know What You're Talking About! The Speaker's Guide to Illustrative Anecdotes in 2005.[12]

Personal life

Cain moved to Arlington, Virginia in 1959.[4]

Cain married Arleen Jennie Iverson of Jamestown, North Dakota on March 30, 1957, in Washington, D.C. She was the secretary of U.S. Congressman Usher L. Burdick and later an executive secretary for several Northern Virginia businesses.[13] She died in 1999 from cancer. They had three sons: Andrew, David "Jimmie" and Paul.[1][3][4][14] Andrew Cain is a politics editor with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.[4]

Cain died on April 12, 2010, in Arlington. He was buried at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington.[4][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "North Dakota Girl Engaged to David Jamison Cain Jr". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. January 22, 1957. p. 3. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ↑ "Final Rites Today for "Jimmie" Cain". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. November 27, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Jamison Cain". Charleston Post & Courier. April 30, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robertson, Ellen (April 16, 2010). "D. Jamison Cain, who coined the term 'ZIP code,' dies at 84". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  5. ↑ "Cain Takes Postal Post". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. March 10, 1961. p. 13. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. 1 2 3 Kelly, John (September 29, 2018). "Virginia resident pushed the envelope when Zip code was born in 1963". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Beauty and Wit". The State. November 6, 1983. p. 7-F. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. ↑ Linsky, Martin (1986). How the Press Affects Federal Policymaking: Six Case Studies (1st ed.). New York: W W Norton & Co Inc. p. 17. ISBN 978-0393023282.
  9. ↑ "Kenney Is President of S.C. Society". The Greenville News. April 14, 1964. p. 14. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ↑ "Sumter Native Award Winner". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. July 19, 1967. p. 2. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ↑ Kennedy, William G.; Cain, Mary Ellen B.; Cain, D. Jamison (1983). Beauty and Wit. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  12. ↑ Cain, D. Jamison. How to Show You Know What You're Talking About! The Speaker's Guide to Illustrative Anecdotes. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Obituaries". Washington Post. August 12, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Arleen Cain". The State. August 10, 1999. p. 30. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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