Frederick Nolting (August 24, 1911 – December 14, 1989) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

diplomat who served as

United States Ambassador to South Vietnam Following the end of World War II in Asia, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, as part of French Indochina, which it had lost to Japan in 1941. At the conclusion of the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the No ...

from 1961 to 1963.

Early life and education

Frederick Ernest Nolting Jr. was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

to Frederick Ernst Nolting Sr. and his wife, the former Mary Buford. Nolting Jr. graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1933, where he was a member of the Virginia Glee Club, with a BA in history. He then received a master's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1941 and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He served in the

United States 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 ...

during

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 ...

Career

Nolting joined the State Department in 1946, where he acted as special assistant to Secretary of State

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...

for mutual security affairs. He was appointed as a member of the United States delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1955. In 1957 he was appointed by President

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, ...

as alternate permanent representative to NATO, and in 1961 he was appointed by President

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 i ...

as United States Ambassador to South Vietnam. Following his government service, Nolting went to work for

Morgan Guaranty Trust Company J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in th ...

, and in 1970 joined the faculty of the University of Virginia and became founding director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs. In 1988 he published his memoir ''From Trust to Tragedy: The Political Memoirs of Frederick Nolting, Kennedy's Ambassador to Diem's Vietnam''. Olson, James Stuart ''Historical Dictionary of 1960s'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999)

Personal life

Nolting married Olivia Lindsay Crumpler in 1940. They had four children – Molly, Jane, Grace and Frances. In 1946, he purchased " Sully", the former estate home of Richard Bland Lee, first Congressman from Northern Virginia, built in 1794. He was the last private owner of that estate.

Death

Nolting died on December 14, 1989, aged 78, in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. He was buried at St. Paul's Churchyard, Ivy, Albemarle County, Virginia.New York Times, ''Frederick Nolting Jr., U.S. Envoy To Saigon in 60's, Is Dead at 78'' (New York, December 16, 1989)

References

External links

Interview with Frederick Nolting
in 1981 as part of the WGBH serie
Vietnam: A Television HistoryInterview with Fredick Nolting
in 1982 by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolting, Frederick 1911 births 1989 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to South Vietnam United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia Writers from Richmond, Virginia University of Virginia faculty University of Virginia alumni Harvard University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople