Ferdinand "Mot" Lammot Belin (March 15, 1881 – July 6, 1961) was an American diplomat who served as

Chief of Protocol of the United States In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, and the United States secretary of state o ...

and as the U.S. Ambassador to Poland in the early 1930s.

Personal life

Belin was married and he had at least one child, Peter Belin, who served as a captain in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. At one point, Belin was scheduled to travel on the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

in 1912, but he canceled his trip. The ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during her maiden voyage from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, killing more than 1,500 people in one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters. Belin and his wife bought the Evermay property in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on November 28, 1923. As part of extensive renovations and enlargements, he removed Victorian elements at the house to restore its Georgian simplicity. He owned the property until his death in 1961, when it was inherited by his son, Peter Belin. Evermay was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is a contributing property to the Georgetown Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.

Career

Belin, a career

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

, was appointed Chief of the Division of International Conferences and Protocol at the U.S. State Department on November 17, 1930. This position later became known as Chief of Protocol of the United States. He retained this position for less than a year and left the office on September 15, 1931. In 1932, during a recess of the U.S. Senate, President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

appointed Belin to become U.S. Ambassador to the

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Belin presented his credentials on December 13, 1932, and left office a few months later when his recess appointment expired.

Death

Belin died in

on July 6, 1961, at the age of 80. He was buried at Hickory Grove Cemetery in Waverly Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belin, F. Lammot 1881 births 1961 deaths Hoover administration personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Poland Chiefs of Protocol of the United States