Laurence Steinhardt
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Laurence Adolph Steinhardt (October 6, 1892 – March 28, 1950) was an American economist, lawyer, and senior diplomat 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 ...
who served as U.S. Ambassador to six countries. He served as U.S. First Minister to Sweden (1933–1937), U.S. Ambassador to Peru (1937–1939), U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1939–1941), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (1942–1945), U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1945–1948) and
United States Ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...
(1948–1950). He was killed in a U.S. embassy plane crash on March 28, 1950, in Ramsayville, Ontario, Canada, while serving as U.S. Ambassador to Canada. He was the first United States Ambassador to be killed in the line of duty.


Biography

Laurence A. Steinhardt was born October 6, 1892, at his family home (23 East 92nd Street) in New York City. As a native New Yorker, he was educated at the Franklin School for Boys and graduated 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 ...
with an A.B in 1913, an M.A. in 1915 and an LL.B. in 1915 from
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
. He became a member of
Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...
fraternity (New York) in 1909, National President in 1915, and Supreme Rex for life from 1939 to 1950. He was permanent treasurer of the class of 1913 and class of 1915 Columbia Law School. He was the son of Adolph Maximillian Steinhardt (one of the founders and executive heads of National Enameling and Stamping Co.) and Addie Untermyer Steinhardt (a sister to noted lawyer
Samuel Untermyer Samuel J. Untermyer (March 6, 1858 – March 16, 1940) was a prominent American lawyer and civic leader. He is also remembered for bequeathing his Yonkers, New York estate, now known as Untermyer Park, to the people of New York State. Life S ...
). He was a nephew of
Samuel Untermyer Samuel J. Untermyer (March 6, 1858 – March 16, 1940) was a prominent American lawyer and civic leader. He is also remembered for bequeathing his Yonkers, New York estate, now known as Untermyer Park, to the people of New York State. Life S ...
. He married Dulcie Yates Hofmann, daughter of Henry Hofmann (banker) and Ina Maitland Yates Hofmann, on January 15, 1923. He had one daughter, Dulcie-Ann Steinhardt (1925–2001). He practiced accountancy with Deloitte, Plender and Griffiths, was admitted to the New York bar in October 1915, enlisted in the
U.S Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
60th Field Artillery in 1916 as a private/sharpshooter, was honorably discharged in 1918 as a sergeant Quartermaster Corps after serving as associate counsel on the Provost Marshal General Staff. He served as counsel for the Housing and Health Division of the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...
in 1919, and was a member of the law firm Guggenheimer, Untermyer and Marshall from 1920 to 1933. Other notable jurists and family members of Guggenheimer, Untermyer and Marshall were Samuel Untermyer, Louis Marshall, Charles S. Guggenheimer, Alvin Untermyer and Irwin Untermyer. In 1932, in active support of Governor
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 ...
’s pre-convention presidential campaign, he joined the inner campaign circle committee, composed of political notables Louis Howe, Jimmy Farley, Frank Walker, and Ed Flynn. Specifically, with his economic background on FDR's finance committee, he wrote campaign speeches on the economics of the time for FDR. He entered the U.S. diplomatic service at ambassadorial rank in 1933 at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as First Minister to Sweden (1933–1937), U.S. Ambassador to Peru (1937–1939), U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1939–1941), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (1942–1945), U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1945–1948),
United States Ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...
(1948–1950). He was awarded the Order of the Polar Star in 1936 by
King Gustav V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...
of Sweden; inscribed in The Golden Book,
Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...
,
Jewish Agency for Palestine The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
, 1944; awarded the United States Typhus Commission Medal in 1945 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; awarded the Medal for Merit in 1946 by President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
; awarded posthumously the Honorary Doctor of Laws,
Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
, 1950. He was the author of numerous publications: *''Legal Status of the Trade Union,'' June 1915 *''Medical Jurisprudence: The Rules of Law Governing the Liability of Physicians and Surgeons for Malpractice,'' ''
Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...
'', March 2, 1918, vol. 70, pp. 585–587. *''Medical Jurisprudence: The General Rules of Law Governing the Compensation of Physician and Surgeons,'' July 9, 1921, vol. 77, pp. 98–100. *''The Regulation and Control of Physicians and Surgeons by Public Authority'', ''Journal of the American Medical Association'', June 4, 1927, vol, 88, pp. 1833–1835. *''The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth'', 1931 Directorships: Fruit & Produce Acceptance Corp., Lessing's Inc., Louis Phillipe Inc., Leopold Stern and Sons Inc., Affiliated Products Inc., United Steel and Tube Inc., Neet Inc., G.R. Kinney & Co., Jean Patou Inc., Immac Inc., Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., Member of numerous organizations: American Bar Association/ Atlantic Beach Club/ Bankers Club of New York/ Bar Association of the City of New York/ Columbia University Club/ Columbia Varsity Club/ Democratic National Finance Committee/ Executive Finance Committee of the Democratic National Campaign Committee/ Federation of American Zionists and the American Zion Commonwealth/ National Democratic club/ Member, President Roosevelt's pre-convention campaign committee/ Pi Lambda Phi In 1941, immediately prior to Germany's bombing assault on Moscow and with only six hours notice, Steinhardt sent his wife, daughter and her governess, each carrying only one suitcase, out to Stockholm on one of the last planes departing with families of diplomats to any safer destinations within Europe. Steinhardt then returned his attention to the ongoing preparations to evacuate and accompany the remaining U.S. embassy staff to Kuybyshev taking seven days by train to go some 400 miles east of Moscow to this destination, designated by the Kremlin for remaining diplomats. Once the staff was situated in spartan housing with the entire stock of embassy foodstuffs brought along and sufficient to feed the greater diplomatic corps in addition to the staff, he returned to the U.S. embassy residence in Moscow during the bombings to secure the embassy with a skeleton staff of six. He was known within family circles to say he took great pride in working alongside his amazing staff in his embassy postings. In July of this period, the famed photographer, Margaret Bourke-White, managed to get into Moscow to the embassy residence so as to document the German bombings. On the nights of July 23 and July 26 she and Steinhardt lay on their backs on the roof of Spaso House while she photographed German bombs, Nazi parachute flares, tracer bullets, and anti-aircraft gunshots streaking across the nighttime sky overhead. Her portfolio assignment produced startling visual imagery for the American public in the issue of ''Life Magazine'', Vol 11, No 9., pp. 15–21. dated September 1, 1941, Kuybyshev. On January 12, 1942, Steinhardt was appointed Ambassador to Turkey. His mission directives included buying up all the available sources of chrome the Nazis needed for the manufacture of steel for their war machine. More importantly and much more challenging was the deep rooted presence in Istanbul of the highest flange of German diplomats led by German Ambassador
Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...
whose objective was to bring Turkey into the German side of the war. Steinhardt's mission directive was to bring Turkey into the Allied side of the war. Each was crafty, intense, and possessed with the access to vast intelligence gathering network sources. Turkey was THE battleground during this critical period of 1942 to 1945 as so much hung in the balance, not the least of which was Turkey's important geographic location, then and now. By 1944, Turkey had turned west to the Allies, an historical orientation originally seeded by Gamal Atatürk in 1923 to turn Turkey into a modern secular nation while still keeping its foundational character. While Ambassador to Turkey, Steinhardt, in part due to his
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
heritage, played a significant but not openly known role (due to his public diplomatic position) in numerous Jewish- related refugee transit evacuations: the rescue of
Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...
from
Bergen Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentr ...
, Jewish children from Romania, and many eminent intellectuals fleeing Europe to find refuge in Turkey, Palestine, and the United States. In personal subterranean concert with the Vatican's representative to Turkey, Papal Nuncio Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881–1963), they devised false visa schemes to facilitate the documents needed for transit through Turkey for fleeing refugees. Steinhardt and Ira Hirschmann of The War Refugee Board secured leaky boats wherever possible with no assurance of the safety of such vessels but the hope that anything might succeed if tried. While there were successes, sadly there were also tragedies and losses. Cardinal Roncalli was elected in 1958 by the Vatican conclave to become
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
and subsequently was canonized as a saint. The highest note of his papacy was
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
, also known as the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). On August 1, 1943,
Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
, the air attack by U.S. Army Air Forces based in Libya and Southern Italy, began their daring strategic bombing mission over the Ploiesti refineries and oilfields in Romania in order to deny the German war machine of needed fuel. This was aided by the uses of the Norden bombsight for pinpoint accuracy. This is now considered by many World War II military historians as one of the costliest and bloodiest missions of the war. Of the 53 aircraft and 660 crew members lost, many had little or no fuel to return to their bases, so they were instructed to ditch in neutral Turkey where there was a substantial American presence to assist and on which to fall back. Many a dark unlit night following the bombing raid, Steinhardt and his daughter, in a jeep with a small convoy of his embassy military personnel, sortied out into the wilds and deserts attempting to locate and return wounded American pilots, destroy the bombsights so the Germans would not know of their existence, return with the wounded, secretly patching them up by the embassy medical team and moving them quietly through channels back to their points of origin. Some were slipped out to the coast at Izmir and quietly put on sailboats bound for Lebanon or Palestine. Two flyers were smuggled out when Mrs. Steinhardt and her daughter suddenly announced their "shopping trip" to Beirut. Hidden under the sleeper bunks of Mrs. Steinhardt's train compartment, they remained unknown to all until arrival at the border when they escaped. Steinhardt was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.


Family

He married the former Dulcie Yates Hofmann (1895–1974) on January 15, 1923; One daughter, Dulcie-Ann Steinhardt (1925–2001).


See also

*
John Gordon Mein John Gordon Mein (September 10, 1913 – August 28, 1968) was the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office. Mein served as the United States Ambassador to Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War. It was during h ...
, the next US ambassador to die in the line of duty


References


Sources


Laurence Adolph Steinhardt (1892–1950)
US State Department Office of the Historian


External links

*

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhardt, Laurence 1892 births 1950 deaths American Jews United States Army personnel of World War I Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden Ambassadors of the United States to Czechoslovakia Ambassadors of the United States to Canada Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union 20th-century American diplomats Quartermasters Accidental deaths in Ontario People from New York City Ambassadors of the United States to Peru Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1950 Columbia Law School alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni