Hugh R. Wilson
Encyclopedia
Hugh Robert Wilson was a member of the United States Foreign Service
, who headed the U.S. mission to Switzerland for ten years beginning in 1927. He became Assistant Secretary of State in 1937 and served for several months in 1938 as U.S. Ambassador to Germany
.
, to Hugh Robert and Alice W. Wilson. He attended Yale University
and graduated in 1906. He worked in business for a few years and studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
, Paris in 1910. He served briefly in the U.S. delegation in Lisbon until, upon passing examinations for the Diplomatic Service, he was appointed Secretary to the U.S. delegation in Guatemala. While in that post, Wilson married Katherine Boyle in London on April 25, 1914. He later served in Buenos Aires, Berlin, Vienna, Tokyo, and Berne. From 1924 to 1927 he worked in Washington as Chief of the Division of Current Information of the U.S. Department of State.
He held the position of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Switzerland
from 1927 to 1937, and during those years represented the United States at many international conferences. On August 23, 1937, he became Assistant Secretary of State. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from March 3, 1938, to November 16, 1938.
He attended the congress of the Nazi Party in Nuremberg
in September 1938, breaking with the precedent established by his predecessor, William E. Dodd
, who had refused to attend. In Dodd's absence, the embassy's chargé d'affaires had attended the previous year. President Roosevelt called Wilson home for urgent consultations in November 1938 following the anti-Jewish attacks of Kristallnacht
and he never returned to Germany.
Yale awarded Wilson an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1939. Bryant College
awarded him an honorary degree the same year.
Wilson held the title Advisor to Secretary of State until he retired from the Foreign Service on December 31, 1940. He returned to government service following the attack on Pearl Harbor and worked at the Office of Strategic Services
from 1941 to 1945. He then accepted an appointment as chief of the foreign affairs section of the Republican National Committee
.
With Pierre Cot
, a French Cabinet Minister throughout the 1930s, Wilson taught a course at Yale in the spring of 1941.
Wilson died on December 29, 1946, in Bennington, Vermont, following a long illness. He is buried in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery.
Wilson's son Hugh R. Wilson, Jr., deposited his fathers papers at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in 1928.
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
, who headed the U.S. mission to Switzerland for ten years beginning in 1927. He became Assistant Secretary of State in 1937 and served for several months in 1938 as U.S. Ambassador to Germany
United States Ambassador to Germany
The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice while Germany and the United States were at war...
.
Overview
Wilson was born on January 29, 1885, in Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, to Hugh Robert and Alice W. Wilson. He attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and graduated in 1906. He worked in business for a few years and studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...
, Paris in 1910. He served briefly in the U.S. delegation in Lisbon until, upon passing examinations for the Diplomatic Service, he was appointed Secretary to the U.S. delegation in Guatemala. While in that post, Wilson married Katherine Boyle in London on April 25, 1914. He later served in Buenos Aires, Berlin, Vienna, Tokyo, and Berne. From 1924 to 1927 he worked in Washington as Chief of the Division of Current Information of the U.S. Department of State.
He held the position of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Switzerland
United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein
This is a list of United States Ambassadors to Switzerland.Since 1997, the US ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein. The position is generally held by a political appointee, not a career diplomat.-Ambassadors:-See also:...
from 1927 to 1937, and during those years represented the United States at many international conferences. On August 23, 1937, he became Assistant Secretary of State. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from March 3, 1938, to November 16, 1938.
He attended the congress of the Nazi Party in Nuremberg
Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rally was the annual rally of the NSDAP in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938. Especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, they were large Nazi propaganda events...
in September 1938, breaking with the precedent established by his predecessor, William E. Dodd
William Dodd (ambassador)
William Edward Dodd was an American historian who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937, during the Nazi era.-Early years and academic career:...
, who had refused to attend. In Dodd's absence, the embassy's chargé d'affaires had attended the previous year. President Roosevelt called Wilson home for urgent consultations in November 1938 following the anti-Jewish attacks of Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
and he never returned to Germany.
Yale awarded Wilson an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1939. Bryant College
Bryant University
Bryant University is a private university located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S., that grants the degrees of bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and master's degrees in business, taxation and accounting. Until August 2004, it was known as Bryant College...
awarded him an honorary degree the same year.
Wilson held the title Advisor to Secretary of State until he retired from the Foreign Service on December 31, 1940. He returned to government service following the attack on Pearl Harbor and worked at the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
from 1941 to 1945. He then accepted an appointment as chief of the foreign affairs section of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
.
With Pierre Cot
Pierre Cot
.Pierre Cot , French politician, was a leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s...
, a French Cabinet Minister throughout the 1930s, Wilson taught a course at Yale in the spring of 1941.
Wilson died on December 29, 1946, in Bennington, Vermont, following a long illness. He is buried in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery.
Wilson's son Hugh R. Wilson, Jr., deposited his fathers papers at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in 1928.
Works
- The Education of a Diplomat (NY: Longmans, Green and Co., 1938)
- Diplomat between Wars (NY, Longmans, Green & Co., 1941)
- A Career Diplomat: The Third Chapter, The Third Reich (NY: Vantage Press, 1960)
- Disarmament and the Cold War in the Thirties (NY: Vantage Press 1963)
- Descent into Violence - Spain, January-July 1936 (Ilfracombe, Stockwell, 1969)