James Jeremiah "Jerry" Wadsworth (June 12, 1905 – March 13, 1984)
["James J(eremiah) Wadsworth." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.] was an American politician and diplomat from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Early life
A member of the prominent Genesee Valley
Wadsworths, James J. Wadsworth was born in
Groveland, New York
Groveland is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 3,249 at the 2010 census. The town is centrally located in the county, south of Geneseo.
History
The Sullivan Expedition (1779) reached its farthest exten ...
on June 12, 1905. He was a direct descendant of pioneer
William Wadsworth, a
founder of Hartford, Connecticut.
His great-grandfather,
James S. Wadsworth
James Samuel Wadsworth (October 30, 1807 – May 8, 1864) was a philanthropist, politician, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded in battle during the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864.
Early years
Wadswor ...
, was a Union general in the American Civil War, killed in the
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...
of 1864. Both his grandfather,
James Wolcott Wadsworth
James Wolcott Wadsworth (October 12, 1846 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – December 24, 1926 in Washington, D.C.) was an American farmer, soldier and statesman.
Early life
He was the son of Civil War General James Samuel Wadsworth (1 ...
, and his father,
James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., represented New York in Congress. His other grandfather was United States Secretary of State
John Hay
John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...
. His sister Evelyn was married to
William Stuart Symington; they were the parents of
James Wadsworth Symington, his nephew.
Wadsworth graduated from
Fay School
Fay School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school, located on a campus some from Boston in Southborough, Massachusetts. Fay opened its Primary School (pre-K to grade two) in 2010 and moved its 6th grade into the Lower School ...
in 1918, from
St. Mark's School, and from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1927,
where he was a member of
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
.
Career
He was a member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
(Livingston Co.) in
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
,
1933,
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
,
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
,
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1937,
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
,
1939–40 and
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
. He resigned his seat in 1941.
He was medically unfit for
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
because of an injured leg, but aided the war effort as an assistant manager at the
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...
Corporation plant in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. In 1950, he became deputy administrator of the civil defense office for the
National Security Resources Board The National Security Resources Board was a United States government agency created by the National Security Act of 1947 whose purpose was to advise the President, in times of war, on how to mobilize natural resources, manpower, and the scientific e ...
, which drafted many of the
civil defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
plans that were prepared at the height 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 ...
.
From 1953 to 1960, Wadsworth was Deputy Chief of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. He was appointed
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
by
President Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, and he served from 1960 to 1961.
In 1965,
President Johnson appointed Wadsworth to the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
, and he served until 1970. Wadsworth left the FCC to join the American team negotiating a charter for the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
).
Personal life
In 1927, Wadsworth was married to Harty Griggs Tilton (1906–1965), a daughter of Benjamin Trowbridge Tilton and Anna Billings (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Griggs) Tilton. Together, they were the parents of:
* Alice Wadsworth (1928–1998), who married Trowbridge Strong (1925–2001) in 1948.
He died in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
on March 13, 1984. He was buried at Temple Hill Cemetery in
Geneseo.
Bibliography
* ''The Price of Peace'', Praeger, 1961.
* ''The Glass House'', Praeger, 1966.
* ''The Silver Spoon: An Autobiography'', W. F. Humphrey Press (Geneva, NY), 1980.
References
External links
Reminiscences of James Jeremiah Wadsworth-
Oral History
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
- Eisenhower Administrative File -
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
"New Job for Old Hand"-
''Time'' - August 22, 1960
James Jeremiah Wadsworth at The Political Graveyard ''New York Times'', March 15, 1984
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, James Jeremiah
1905 births
1984 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American autobiographers
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
People from Groveland, New York
Permanent Representatives of the United States to the United Nations
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni
Wadsworth family
Yale University alumni
Fay School alumni
Truman administration personnel
Eisenhower administration cabinet members
Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel
Nixon administration personnel