John Jeffry Louis Jr. (June 10, 1925 – February 15, 1995) was an American businessman and diplomat. He served as the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as the ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's) is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarc ...

Early life

John J. Louis Jr., was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

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

advertiser John Jeffry Louis and Johnson Wax heiress

Henrietta Johnson Louis Henrietta Johnson Louis (1902 – 18 January 1992), was an American heiress. Biography She was born Henrietta Johnson in 1902 in Racine, Wisconsin, the daughter of Herbert Fisk Johnson Sr., the grand daughter of the S. C. Johnson & Son company ...

. He grew up in the Chicago area. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(1943–1945), where he was a second lieutenant and pilot. After the war, he received a bachelor of arts degree from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

and a master in business administration from the

Tuck School of Business The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1949.

Career

Entering business in 1951, John J. Louis Jr. started in his father's advertising firm, Needham, Louis, and Brorby. In 1953, he married Josephine Louis (née Peters), with whom he had three children. He then joined S.C. Johnson and Son in 1958. S.C. Johnson was the successor company of his great-grandfather's company, Johnson Wax. At S.C. Johnson, John J. Louis Jr. was director of international marketing until 1961. From 1961 to 1968, he was chairman of KTAR Broadcasting in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, until it merged with a local billboard company to form Combined Communications Corporation. He then served as chair of the merged company. In 1979, Combined Communications merged with Gannett, and Louis joined Gannett. His first diplomatic work was in the ceremonial role of Special Ambassador in 1972 at an independence celebration in Gabon, during the presidency of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. More substantially, he was nominated to the post of

by President Ronald Reagan on March 27, 1981.Ronald Reagan White House. March 27, 1981
"Nomination of John J. Louis Jr. To Be United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom."
Public Papers of the Presidents. Accessed 2008-11-01. He served in that post until his resignation on September 19, 1983. In his resignation, Louis expressed optimism about the quality of relations with the United Kingdom and the government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, yet stated his desire to return to corporate and philanthropic pursuits.Ronald Reagan White House. September 19, 1983
"Letter Accepting the Resignation of John J. Louis Jr., as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom"
Public Papers of the Presidents. Accessed November 1, 2008.

Philanthropy

Louis served as a trustee of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston, Illinois, where he had a building, John J. Louis Hall named for his father, John J. Louis, who had also been a trustee of the university. The building, which houses Northwestern's professional production and post-production facilities for the Department of Radio/Television/Film as well as public radio WNUR 89.3 FM and a classroom/lab for the Medill School of Journalism still exists on Northwestern's South end of campus today near Norris University Center.

Death and legacy

On February 15, 1995, Louis died in his home in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

, at age 69. His son John Jeffry Louis, III has continued the family tradition, serving on the boards of directors of S.C. Johnson and Gannett, as well as the

board of trustees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, John J. 1925 births 1995 deaths People from Evanston, Illinois Williams College alumni Dartmouth College alumni Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom Samuel Curtis Johnson family Phillips family (New England) United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Military personnel from Illinois 20th-century American diplomats