David Gray (August 8, 1870 – April 11, 1968)
was an American
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and
novelist, who served as the
United States minister to Ireland from 1940 to 1947.
Early years
Gray was born in
Buffalo, New York, and graduated from
Harvard University in 1892.
He was a member of the
American Expeditionary Forces in
World War I; serving in
France, he received the
Croix de guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
and the
Legion of Honour.
In 1925, he received a
Doctor of Letters from
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
.
Minister to Ireland
Gray was appointed minister to Ireland in February 1940, and presented his credentials in April 1940. His official title was
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
In Gray's own words, his appointment was
nepotic, as he was
First Lady's Eleanor Roosevelt's uncle through marriage.
Gray was in his post through most of
World War II and the start of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. He led American efforts to convince
Ireland to enter the war on the side of the Allies. His performance was such that Ireland's
Taoiseach (prime minister)
Éamon de Valera sought repeatedly to have Gray replaced, especially after the death of
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
[ Gray believed Ireland was only staying neutral because de Valera actually believed the Nazis would eventually defeat the Allies. He also believed that top Irish officials were colluding with Nazi Germany secretly.
]
Views on Ireland
As a Roosevelt family
The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...
member, Gray wrote privately to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt with a number of dry verses and remarks, sometimes humorous and sometimes scathing, on his opinions of de Valera and Irish policy towards the War.
Senior lecturer in U.S. Foreign Policy, Timothy J. Lynch, has observed that "his animus towards his host nation made Gray atypical of American ambassadors in Dublin."OSS
OSS or Oss may refer to:
Places
* Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands
* Osh Airport, IATA code OSS
People with the name
* Oss (surname), a surname
Arts and entertainment
* ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...
in Ireland. Gray believed the Irish government was secretly pro-Nazi. Gray consistently tried to get Ireland to join the war against the Nazis, though Ireland refused. De Valera went so far as to ask the United States government and Franklin Roosevelt to remove Gray from his post because of opposition to Irish neutrality, though the U.S. government never did.
In popular culture
The character of David Gray was played in the 1983 RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
television series '' Caught in a Free State'' by the actor O. Z. Whitehead
Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead (March 1, 1911 – July 29, 1998) was an American stage and film character actor. He was born in New York City and attended Harvard University. Called "O.Z." or "Zebby", he also authored several volumes of biographi ...
.
Later years
Gray donated many of his personal papers to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library before his death, including an extensive correspondence. Gray died in Florida in 1968, aged 97.
Works
*
*
*
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
David Gray papers
at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, David
Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland
1870 births
1968 deaths
Harvard University alumni