Thomas Dudley Cabot
Encyclopedia
Thomas Dudley Cabot was an American businessman and philanthropist. He also became U.S. Department of State's Director of Office of International Security Affairs.
. His father was Godfrey Lowell Cabot
, founder of Cabot Corporation
and a philanthropist. His mother was Maria Moors Cabot. Cabot was named after Thomas Dudley
, governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
who signed the charter creating Harvard College
. He had two siblings: John Moors Cabot
(b. 1901), U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
, Colombia
, Brazil
, and Poland
during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administration, and Eleanor Cabot of the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
.
Cabot graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols
in 1913. He took some courses at Boston Tech (now known as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
) and Curtiss Flying School
, becoming a World War I
flight instructor at Kelly Field in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, before graduating cum laude from Harvard University
with a S.B. in Engineering
, in 1919.
, founded by his father. He served as CEO of Cabot Corporation from 1922 to 1960, when he relinquished active control of the company, and went to his Boston office as Director Emeritus
on a regular basis until his death.
Cabot was also a long time director of United Fruit Company
, and became its president in 1948 in hopes of reformation, but resigned in 1949. His brother John Moors Cabot was a major shareholder of United Fruit, as was another family member, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
, who also served as a director of United Fruit.
In 1951, Cabot served as U.S. Department of State's Director of Office of International Security Affairs during the Truman administration, where he spoke for the State Department on NATO affairs, was in charge of a U.S. program arming allies throughout the world, and supervised the disbursement of $6 billion in foreign economic and military aid
. In 1953, he also served as consultant on a special development mission in Egypt
.
In 1960, a Central Intelligence Agency
cover called Gibraltar Steamship Company (which didn't own any steamships and whose president was Cabot) owned and established Radio Swan on Swan Island
, a covert black operation to win supporters for U.S. policies and discredit Fidel Castro
.
Cabot, his brother John Moors Cabot, another family member Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Cabot's son, Louis Wellington Cabot, were all Council on Foreign Relations
members inducted in 1992.
, was a Director of the Harvard Alumni Association and significant benefactor of the university, and recipient of a Harvard Medal and honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1970. In 1985, Harvard's Cabot House
was named in honor of Cabot and his wife. The Cabot Science Complex is also named in their honor.
for seventy-five years, and had five children: Louis Wellington Cabot, businessman, philanthropist, former Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
, Thomas Dudley Cabot Jr., Robert Moors Cabot, Dr. Edmund Billings Cabot, Andover
star and retired surgeon, and Linda Cabot Black, cofounder of Opera Company of Boston
and Opera New England.
Early life
Cabot was born in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. His father was Godfrey Lowell Cabot
Godfrey Lowell Cabot
Godfrey Lowell Cabot was an American industrialist and philanthropist, who founded the Cabot Corporation.-Early life:...
, founder of Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates in four segments: the Carbon Black Business, the Metal Oxides Business, the Supermetals Business, and the Specialty Fluids Business. Cabot's headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts...
and a philanthropist. His mother was Maria Moors Cabot. Cabot was named after Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...
, governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
who signed the charter creating Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He had two siblings: John Moors Cabot
John Moors Cabot
John Moors Cabot was an American diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to four nations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administration. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.-Early life:...
(b. 1901), U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administration, and Eleanor Cabot of the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
The Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate is a nonprofit country house and garden ground museum in Canton, Massachusetts. It is operated by The Trustees of Reservations. The grounds are open every day, sunrise to sunset, without charge.-History:...
.
Cabot graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is a private school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Charles River. The school educates students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was established by a merge of two independent schools, the Buckingham School founded...
in 1913. He took some courses at Boston Tech (now known as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
) and Curtiss Flying School
Curtiss Flying School
left|thumb|A Curtiss Jenny on a training flightThe Curtiss Flying School was started by Glenn Curtiss to compete against the Wright Flying School of the Wright brothers...
, becoming a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flight instructor at Kelly Field in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, before graduating cum laude from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a S.B. in Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, in 1919.
Career
Upon graduation, Cabot started working for Cabot CorporationCabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates in four segments: the Carbon Black Business, the Metal Oxides Business, the Supermetals Business, and the Specialty Fluids Business. Cabot's headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts...
, founded by his father. He served as CEO of Cabot Corporation from 1922 to 1960, when he relinquished active control of the company, and went to his Boston office as Director Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
on a regular basis until his death.
Cabot was also a long time director of United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
, and became its president in 1948 in hopes of reformation, but resigned in 1949. His brother John Moors Cabot was a major shareholder of United Fruit, as was another family member, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
, who also served as a director of United Fruit.
In 1951, Cabot served as U.S. Department of State's Director of Office of International Security Affairs during the Truman administration, where he spoke for the State Department on NATO affairs, was in charge of a U.S. program arming allies throughout the world, and supervised the disbursement of $6 billion in foreign economic and military aid
United States military aid
The United States government first recognized the usefulness of foreign aid as a tool of diplomacy in World War II. It was believed that it would promote liberal capitalist models of development in other countries and that it would enhance national security....
. In 1953, he also served as consultant on a special development mission in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
In 1960, a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
cover called Gibraltar Steamship Company (which didn't own any steamships and whose president was Cabot) owned and established Radio Swan on Swan Island
Swan Islands, Honduras
The Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla, are a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately ninety miles off the coastline of Honduras, with a land area of .-Detailed location and features:...
, a covert black operation to win supporters for U.S. policies and discredit Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
Cabot, his brother John Moors Cabot, another family member Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Cabot's son, Louis Wellington Cabot, were all Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
members inducted in 1992.
Philanthropic work
Cabot also served on the Harvard Board of OverseersHarvard Board of Overseers
The Harvard Board of Overseers is one of Harvard University's two governing boards...
, was a Director of the Harvard Alumni Association and significant benefactor of the university, and recipient of a Harvard Medal and honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1970. In 1985, Harvard's Cabot House
Cabot House
Cabot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Cabot House derives from the merger in 1970 of South and East House, which took the name South House , until the name was changed and the House reincorporated in 1984 to honor Harvard benefactors Thomas Cabot and...
was named in honor of Cabot and his wife. The Cabot Science Complex is also named in their honor.
Writings
- Quick-Water and Smooth: A Canoeist's Guide to New England Rivers, 1935
- Beggar on Horseback: The Autobiography of Thomas D. Cabot, 1979
- Avelinda: The Legacy of a Yankee Yachtsman, 1991
Personal life
Cabot was married to Virginia Wellington Cabot for 75 years, from 1920 to his death in 1995. They resided in Weston, MassachusettsWeston, Massachusetts
Weston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....
for seventy-five years, and had five children: Louis Wellington Cabot, businessman, philanthropist, former Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers most of Connecticut , Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. It is headquartered in the Federal Reserve Bank Building in Boston,...
, Thomas Dudley Cabot Jr., Robert Moors Cabot, Dr. Edmund Billings Cabot, Andover
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
star and retired surgeon, and Linda Cabot Black, cofounder of Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
and Opera New England.