Alvin Mansfield Owsley (June 11, 1888 – April 3, 1967) was an American diplomat who served as the National Commander of the American Legion from 1922 to 1923, and later served as United States minister to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

, and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Early life and education

Owsley was born and raised in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, son of Alvin Clark and Sallie (Blount) Owsley. He remained in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

with his family while working for his elementary and secondary education, and also while attending a term at

North Texas State College The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

in 1904. Later that year, he joined the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, where he developed into captain of Company A, and in 1909 graduated in the upper tier of his class. He completed his law degree at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1912. He married Lucy Ball of Muncie, Indiana, in May 1925. They had three children. He began work in 1912 with his father's legal firm, but then served in the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

in 1913–1914. In 1915, he became the county and district attorney in

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...

, a title he held until 1917.

World War I

Owsley traded his political and legal responsibilities to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the 36th Infantry Division. He was involved in many important World War I campaigns and offensives through 1918, especially the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was honourably discharged as a lieutenant colonel in 1919. His discharge was accompanied by several military decorations as well, including the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

and the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

The American Legion

Owsley was present in 1919 at the formative caucus meeting of the American Legion in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and was later elected National Commander in 1921, spending his year long term in support of veterans' issues, such as prosecution of war profiteers. Using official records from

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 ...

, Owsley found that over one hundred thousand war veterans were not receiving adequate financial support. During his 1922–1923 tenure as leader of the American Legion, Owsley made numerous speeches in which he openly endorsed and supported both Benito Mussolini and

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, as well as drew analogies between the fascist movement and the American Legion. His priorities were on display at a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

assembly just before retiring from his head position, where he stated that better hospitalization, rehabilitation, adjusted compensation, and Americanization were necessary for veterans.

Career

From 1923 to 1933 the legal partnership of Burgess, Owsley, Story, and Stewart was the focus of Owsley's career. With gained stability at home in Texas, in May 1925 Alvin married Lucy Ball, daughter of Frank Ball of the

Ball Brothers The Ball brothers (Lucius, William, Edmund, Frank, and George) were five American industrialists and philanthropists who established a manufacturing business in New York and Indiana in the 1880s that was renamed the Ball Corporation in 1969. Th ...

. He attempted an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1928. In 1933, Owsley was rewarded for his efforts as a campaign speaker for

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

with an appointment as the US Minister to Romania (1933–1935). He also served as minister to the Irish Free State (1935–1937) and completed his diplomatic work as minister to Denmark (1937–1939). He resigned in 1939, with increased international tensions and Roosevelt's announcement for a third term as President.

Later life

Though a Democrat, Owsley rejected Roosevelt's bid to run for a third term and campaigned for

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

in 1940. Owsley remained in politics, but helping the Texas campaigns of Republicans Thomas Dewey and

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, ...

. In 1941, he started work for his father-in-law, Frank Ball, at the Ball Brothers' Glass Manufacturing Company, first in Muncie, Indiana, and in 1944 moving to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, where he retired as vice president. He represented the American Legion in support of American soldier William S. Girard in his 1957–1958 manslaughter trial in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Owsley died in Dallas in 1967.

Legacy

At the University of Texas, the Alvin Owsley Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law was established in 1991 for his son Alvin M Owsley Jr.

References

External links

Alvin M. Owsley
at the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

Alvin M. Owsley
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owsley, Alvin M. 1888 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland Ambassadors of the United States to Romania United States Army personnel of World War I County district attorneys in Texas Recipients of the Legion of Honour Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives National Commanders of the American Legion National Guard (United States) officers People from Denton, Texas Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Burials at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery Texas lawyers Virginia Military Institute alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Texas