Rodger Paul Davies (May 7, 1921 – August 19, 1974) was an
American diplomat born in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, who was killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1974, in
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, allegedly by
Greek Cypriot
Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
gunmen during an
anti-American demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, sparked by the U.S's failure to stop the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...
.
He studied Economics at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, before joining the U.S. Army in
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 ...
. He undertook intensive language training in Arabic under
Philip Khuri Hitti
Philip Khuri Hitti (Arabic: فيليب خوري حتي), ( Shimlan 22 June 1886 – Princeton 24 December 1978) was a Lebanese-American professor and scholar at Princeton and Harvard University, and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, Isl ...
at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
as part of the
Army Specialized Training Program
The Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was a military training program instituted by the United States Army during World War II to meet wartime demands both for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills. Conducted at 227 American u ...
, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and then was deployed to the Middle East. He joined the state department after WWII.
Career
Davies was an
American diplomat whose roles included director of the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
's
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), also known as the Bureau of Near East Asian Affairs, is an agency of the Department of State within the United States government that deals with U.S. foreign policy and diplomatic relations with the nati ...
until October 1965. Then until 1970 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. After Davies's death,
President Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
appointed
William R. Crawford Jr.
William Rex Crawford Jr. (1928 – August 4, 2002) was a United States ambassador to Yemen and Cyprus who served in the United States Foreign Service for 30 years. He was born in Philadelphia and lived abroad for some years during his chil ...
, as his successor.
[August 22, 1974, "Ford and Kissinger in Tribute to Slain Cyprus Envoy", '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
Davies had been serving as the
United States Ambassador to Cyprus
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Cyprus.
Until 1960 Cyprus had been a colony of the British Empire. On August 16, 1960, Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The United States diplomatic recognition, recogni ...
since May 1973. It is alleged he was killed by
Greek Cypriot
Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
gunmen during an
anti-American demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, where an estimated 300–600 Greek Cypriots were "demonstrating against the U.S.’s failure" to stop the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...
, which they perceived as the United States siding with
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
[
Davies and Antoinette Varnavas, an embassy secretary and a Greek Cypriot national, were killed by ]sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
fire from a nearby building, believed to be gunmen from EOKA-B
EOKA-B () was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971 by General Georgios Grivas ("Digenis"). It followed an ultra right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achieving the ''enosis'' (union) of Cyprus with ...
, a Greek Cypriot nationalist paramilitary organization whose goal was to unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
Cyprus with Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Afterwards, the U.S. government "immediately" sent his replacement, Ambassador to Yemen William R. Crawford Jr.
William Rex Crawford Jr. (1928 – August 4, 2002) was a United States ambassador to Yemen and Cyprus who served in the United States Foreign Service for 30 years. He was born in Philadelphia and lived abroad for some years during his chil ...
, in order to demonstrate that "it was not blaming Greek-Cypriot authorities for the murder".
Personal life
Davies was born in Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, on May 7, 1921 to John Leslie Davies and Catherine Paul Davies. He had an older brother, John Arthur Davies, and a younger sister, Catherine Davies Frakes. He studied Economics at the University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, before joining the U.S. Army in 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 ...
. He undertook intensive language training in Arabic under Philip Khuri Hitti
Philip Khuri Hitti (Arabic: فيليب خوري حتي), ( Shimlan 22 June 1886 – Princeton 24 December 1978) was a Lebanese-American professor and scholar at Princeton and Harvard University, and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, Isl ...
at Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
as part of the Army Specialized Training Program
The Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was a military training program instituted by the United States Army during World War II to meet wartime demands both for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills. Conducted at 227 American u ...
, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and then was deployed to the Middle East. He joined the State Department after World War II. He then married Sarah Burgess,. She died in 1973, the year before he was killed. They had a daughter, Dana, and a son, John, who were 20 and 15 years old, respectively at the time of Davies's death.
See also
*Cleo A. Noel Jr.
Cleo Allen Noel Jr. (August 6, 1918 – March 2, 1973) was a United States ambassador to Sudan who was murdered by the Black September Palestinian terrorist organization in the 1973 attack on the Saudi embassy in Khartoum.
Early life
Bor ...
, the previous U.S. ambassador to die in the line of duty
*Francis E. Meloy Jr.
Francis Edward Meloy Jr. (March 28, 1917 – June 16, 1976) was a U.S. diplomat murdered in Beirut, Lebanon in 1976 by extreme Lebanese leftist militants.
Early life
Meloy was born in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 1917 to Francis E. Meloy Sr. a ...
, the next U.S. ambassador to die in the line of duty
* List of U.S. ambassadors killed in office
References
External links
Gerald Ford statement upon Davies' death
Vanderbilt Television News Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Rodger
1921 births
1974 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Cyprus
Assassinated American diplomats
People from Berkeley, California
United States Army personnel of World War II
Military personnel from California
American terrorism victims
Terrorism deaths in Cyprus
American people murdered abroad
People murdered in Cyprus
Deaths by firearm in Cyprus
1970s murders in Cyprus
1974 crimes in Cyprus
1974 murders in Asia
1974 murders in Europe
United States Foreign Service personnel
United States Army officers
American expatriates in Cyprus