American diplomat
George A. Gordon's 1920 diplomatic passport photo.
George A. Gordon (November 19, 1885 – May 11, 1959) was an American
attorney and
diplomat who served as
United States Ambassador to Haiti and as
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands .
Life and career
George Anderson Gordon was born in
Huntsville, Alabama on November 19, 1885. He was the son of Percy Gordon, son of
George Anderson Gordon , and Nancy Reed French.
[1]
[2]
He graduated from
Harvard University in 1906 and taught at
St. Paul's School until 1909. In 1912 he received his
law degree from
Columbia University School of Law , and he became an attorney in
New York City .
[3]
[4]
In 1916 Gordon joined the
United States Army and served in the
Pancho Villa Expedition . During
World War I he was assigned as a
captain in France, and after the war he served on the staff that supported the U.S. commissioners who negotiated the
Treaty of Versailles .
[5]
Gordon became a career foreign service employee in 1920, and served at embassies in
Paris ,
Budapest ,
Berlin , and
Rio de Janeiro . In 1930 he married Alice Vandergrift Garrett.
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
In 1935 he was appointed as Ambassador to
Haiti , where he served until 1937.
[14]
In 1937 he became Ambassador to the
Netherlands , serving until the
Nazi invasion in 1940, after which he closed down the embassy and departed.
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
Upon returning to the United States Gordon spent the rest of
World War II working on foreign policy issues at the
State Department , including reorganization and formal re-recognition of
Czechoslovakia following its occupation by the Nazis. He retired in 1945.
[19]
Gordon died in New York City on May 11, 1959.
[20]
References
^
Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries . 1909. p. 420.
^ Harvard College (1780- ). Class of 1906 (1906).
Harvard College Class of 1906 Secretary's Third Report . Crimson Printing Company. p. 158. {{
cite book }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link )
^ Harvard University,
Report of the lass of 1906 , 1916, page 158
^ Bernard V. Burke,
Ambassador Frederic Sackett and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic, 1930-1933 , 2003, page 71
^ Boston Globe,
George A. Gordon to Marry Mrs. Garrett , July 5, 1930
^ Harvard Alumni Association,
Harvard Alumni Bulletin , Volume 61, 1959, page 696
^ New York Times,
Many Are Promoted in Foreign Service , September 6, 1925
^ New York Times,
New Yorkers Rise in Foreign Service: George A. Gordon Becomes Counselor for the Embassy at Paris , January 19, 1930
^ New York Times,
Notes of Social Activities in Metropolitan District and Elsewhere , December 23, 1933
^ Associated Press,
Capitol Social Leader to Wed , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 5, 1930
^ Abraham Ascher,
Was Hitler a Riddle?: Western Democracies and National Socialism , 2012, page 147
^ Robert M. Levine,
Father of the Poor?: Vargas and his Era , 1998, page 42
^ Robert Dallek,
Democrat and Diplomat: The Life of William E. Dodd , 1968, page 197
^ New York Times,
New Envoy to Haiti Arrives , August 3, 1935
^ New York Times,
G.A. Gordon Named Envoy to Holland , July 11, 1937
^ United Press International,
New Netherlands Minister Named , Berkeley Daily Gazette, July 10, 1937
^ J. Reilly O'Sullivan, Associated Press,
Americans Are Unable to Get Out of Holland , Lewiston Daily Sun, May 27, 1940
^ Baltimore Sun,
Gordon, Former Envoy To Holland, Returning , July 18, 1940
^ Chicago Tribune,
U.S. Continues Recognition of Czechs' State , February 8, 1941
^ Associated Press, Death Notice, G. A. Anderson, Newport Daily News, May 12, 1959
External Resources
International National People