Warren Randolph Burgess (May 7, 1889 – September 16, 1978) was an American banker and diplomat who served as the

U.S. Ambassador to NATO The United States Permanent Representative to NATO (commonly called the U.S. Ambassador to NATO) is the official representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Representative has the rank of full ambassador a ...

from 1957 to 1961.

Early life

Burgess was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

(where his father was teaching at the Rogers High School) and grew up in the

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area. He was the son of Isaac Bronson Burgess, a

Philips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

graduate who was a teacher, and Ellen (

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 ...

Wilber) Burgess, an

Abbot Academy Abbot Academy (also known as Abbot Female Seminary and AA) was an University-preparatory school, independent boarding preparatory school for women boarding and day students in grades 9–12 from 1828 to 1973. Located in Andover, Massachusetts, Abb ...

graduate. His elder brother was Robert Wilbur Burgess (b. 1887), who served as

Director of the United States Census Bureau The Director of the Bureau of the Census is the chief administrator of the United States Census Bureau (USCB). The officeholder is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate and assisted by the Deputy ...

from 1953 to 1961. Burgess attended

and joined the

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...

fraternity.Young, Ralph A. Warren Randolph Burgess, 1889–1978. ''The American Statistician'', Vol. 33, No. 3 (Aug., 1979), p. 136 He did graduate work at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal and earned a doctorate from

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 ...

in 1920. His dissertation at Columbia was entitled ''"Trends of School Costs."''

Career

He became a prominent banker in New York City. In 1920, as a statistician, he joined the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...

and remained with the bank for 19 years until he resigned in 1938 as vice president in charge of the Banks government security operation. In 1927, he published ''"The Reserve Banks and the Money Markets."'' In 1938, he joined

National City Bank of New York Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

(now known as

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

) becoming vice chairman of the board of directors; later becoming chairman of the Bank's executive committee. He was elected President of the

American Bankers Association The American Bankers Association (ABA) is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for the U.S. banking industry, founded in 1875. They lobby for banks of all sizes and charters, including community banks, regional and money center banks, sav ...

and served in that role until 1945, when he was succeeded by

Frank C. Rathje Frank Rathje (August 20, 1882 – February 24, 1967) was a Chicago banker who served as president of the American Bankers Association and the Illinois Bankers' Association during World War II. He founded the Mutual National Bank of Chicago and th ...

. In 1930, he was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

Public service

In 1953,

Dwight D. 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, ...

appointed Burgess deputy to the

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

George M. Humphrey George Magoffin Humphrey (March 8, 1890January 20, 1970) was an American lawyer, businessman and banker. He served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Early life Humphrey was born on March 8, 1 ...

and Burgess settled in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The following year in 1954, he was appointed Undersecretary of the Treasury, again by Eisenhower. In 1957, Eisenhower appointed Burgess to succeed George Walbridge Perkins, Jr. as the

United States Permanent Representative to NATO The United States Permanent Representative to NATO (commonly called the U.S. Ambassador to NATO) is the official representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Representative has the rank of full ambassador a ...

(the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

), and he served in this role until 1961 when

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was elected President and appointed

Thomas K. Finletter Thomas Knight Finletter (November 11, 1893 – April 24, 1980) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. Early life Finletter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Dickson Finletter and Helen Grill Finletter. He wa ...

as his replacement. In this capacity he participated in the Bilderberg Conferences in 1958 and 1959.

Personal life

In 1917, he married Dr. May Ayres (1888–1953), director of nursing education and a statistician. Together, they were the parents of two sons: * Leonard Randolph Burgess, an author. * Julian Ayres Burgess (1921–2008), a former aerospace engineer who married illustrator and painter Virginia McIntyre in 1951. After the death of his first wife and while he was serving as the Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs, he married

Helen Morgan Hamilton Helen Morgan Hamilton (June 12, 1896 – January 25, 1985) was an Army Officer, serving as deputy director of and ultimately achieving the rank of Lieutenant colonel of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. She is also the granddaughter of investment ...

(1896–1985), granddaughter of banker J.P. Morgan and widow of Arthur Hale Woods on March 5, 1955. During the war, she served in the Women's Army Corp, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. Burgess died at his home in Washington, D.C. on September 16, 1978. His widow later died on January 25, 1985 in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

References

External links

*
Papers of W. Randolph Burgess, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential LibraryPreliminary Inventory to the W. Randolph Burgess Papers, 1913–1978Collection of Works from W. Randolph Burgess
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Warren Randolph 1889 births 1978 deaths Brown University alumni American bankers Permanent Representatives of the United States to NATO Presidents of the American Statistical Association American statisticians Fellows of the American Statistical Association