Carlisle Humelsine
Assistant Secretary of State for Administration
In office
August 11, 1950 – February 13, 1953
PresidentHarry Truman
Preceded byJohn Peurifoy
Succeeded byEdward T. Wailes
Personal details
Born
Carlisle Hubbard Humelsine

1915
Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJanuary 25, 1989 (aged 73)
Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.
SpouseMary
Children2
EducationUniversity of Maryland
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II

Carlisle Hubbard Humelsine (1915 – January 25, 1989)[1] was an American diplomat and military officer who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration from 1950 to 1953.

Early life and education

Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Humelsine graduated from the University of Maryland in 1937.[2] During World War II, he reached the rank of full colonel at 29, earning the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star.

Career

After the war, he spent six years at the State Department, serving four secretaries of state including Dean Acheson and John Foster Dulles.

While at the State Department, Humelsine was instrumental in orchestrating the persecution of suspected homosexual employees known as the Lavender scare. In June of 1950, he wrote a three-page memo to Under Secretary James E. Webb titled "Problem of Homosexuals and Sex Perverts in the Department of State" which described how the State Department, under the direction of then Assistant Secretary for Administration John Peurifoy, began investigating and firing suspected homosexuals in 1947. Humelsine laid out the agency's homophobic rationales for considering homosexuals to be undesirable as employees.[3]

James Webb delivered Humelsine's paper to Senator Clyde R. Hoey during a meeting discussing the Senate subcommittee's investigation into the employment of homosexuals in the Federal workforce.[4] Humelsine then served as the State Department's spokesperson throughout the Senate investigation,[5] which culminated in the subcommittee's report declaring homosexuals to be unsuitable for government employment.[6]

In 1958, he began a 27-year tenure as president, then chairman, of Colonial Williamsburg. Under his leadership, Williamsburg became one of America’s most popular historical attractions. Humelsine was chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a trustee for the National Geographic Society, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian Institution.

Personal life

Humelsine and his wife, Mary, had two daughters. He died in Williamsburg, Virginia, on January 25, 1989, at the age of 73.

In 2004, Virginia Route 199, in Williamsburg, Virginia, was renamed the "Humelsine Parkway" in honor of Humelsine.[7]

References

  1. ^ Anderson, Susan Heller (1989-01-28). "Carlisle Humelsine, 73, Who Led Board of Colonial Williamsburg". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  2. ^ "ALUMNI HALL OF FAME". 2007-06-23. Archived from the original on 2007-06-23. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  3. ^ "National Archives NextGen Catalog".
  4. ^ "National Archives NextGen Catalog".
  5. ^ "National Archives NextGen Catalog".
  6. ^ https://mattachinesocietywashingtondc.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/document141.pdf
  7. ^ House of Delegates Renames Route 199
Government offices Preceded byJohn Peurifoy Assistant Secretary of State for Administration August 11, 1950 – February 15, 1953 Succeeded byEdward T. Wailes Non-profit organization positions Preceded by Chairman, National Trust for Historic Preservation Succeeded by Preceded by President, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Inc. 1958-1985 Succeeded byCharles Longsworth Preceded byWinthrop Rockefeller Chairman, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation yyyy-1983 Succeeded by


Categories