John Campbell White
United States Ambassador to Peru
In office
April 4, 1944 – June 17, 1945
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byRaymond Henry Norweb
Succeeded byWilliam D. Pawley
United States Ambassador to Haiti
In office
March 14, 1941 – February 24, 1944
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byFerdinand L. Mayer
Succeeded byOrme Wilson
Personal details
Born(1884-03-17)March 17, 1884
London, England
DiedJune 11, 1967(1967-06-11) (aged 83)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse
Elizabeth Barclay Moffat
​
​
(m. 1921)​
ChildrenMargaret Rutherfurd White
Parent(s)Henry White
Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd
Alma materHarvard University

John Campbell White (March 17, 1884 – June 11, 1967) was a prominent U.S. diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Haiti (1941–1944) and Peru (1944–1945).[1]

Early life

Portrait of White's mother, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford, by John Singer Sargent, 1883

White was born at the American Legation in London on March 17, 1884. He was the son of Henry White (1850–1927)[2] and Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford (1853–1916).[3] His father was a diplomat during the 1890s and 1900s who served as United States Ambassador to France and Italy,[4] and one of the signers of the Treaty of Versailles.[5] His only sibling was Margaret Muriel White (1880–1943), who married Count Ernst Hans Christoph Roger Hermann Seherr-Thoss, a Prussian aristocrat in 1909.[5] After his mother's death, his father remarried to Emily Vanderbilt Sloane (1852–1946)[6] in 1920.[5] His stepmother was the daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885) and the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877).[7]

His paternal grandparents were John Campbell White and Eliza Ridgely. They family was wealthy and socially well-connected in Maryland where, as a boy, his father was taken to meet then-President Franklin Pierce and spent much of his childhood at Hampton, the family estate which today is run by the National Park Service.[8] His maternal grandparents were Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (1816–1892), the lawyer and pioneering astrophotographer, and Margaret Stuyvesant Chanler (1820–1890).[9] Through his mother, his aunt was Stuyvesant Rutherfurd and his uncle was Winthrop Rutherfurd.[10]

White graduated from Harvard University in 1907.[11]

Career

White served in the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat from 1914 to 1945. In 1932, he was the counselor of the American Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[12] In 1933, White, who was then Chargé d'affaires in Buenos Aires, was licensed as a third-class international pilot in the country.[13]

On June 19, 1940, he was appointed Diplomatic Agent/Consul General to Morocco. He presented his credentials on August 14, 1940 and left his post on January 6, 1941.[14] On November 29, 1940, he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Haiti, beginning his service on March 14, 1941.[15] On April 14, 1943, the legation was upgraded to an Embassy and he became the United States Ambassador to Haiti, serving until February 24, 1944.[14]

On January 29, 1944, he was appointed the United States Ambassador to Peru, beginning his service on April 4, 1944 and serving until June 17, 1945 when he left his post.[14]

Personal life

In 1921,[11][16] White was married to Elizabeth Barclay Moffat (1898–1993) at St. James' Church on Madison Avenue and 71st Street. Elizabeth, a graduate of Miss Chapin's School in Manhattan, was the daughter of Reuben Burnham Moffat and Ellen Low (née Pierrepont) Moffat and the sister of Jay Pierrepont Moffat, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, and Abbot Low Moffat, a member of the New York State Assembly.[17] Together, they were the parents of:

White died at the age of 83 at his residence, 760 Park Avenue in New York City, on June 11, 1967.[1]

Descendants

Through his daughter Margaret, he was the grandfather of five, William Tapley Bennett III of Washington, D.C., U.S. Navy Cmdr. John Campbell White Bennett of Charleston, South Carolina, Anne B. Bennett of Lexington, Massachusetts, Ellen Bennett Godsall of London, and Victoria R. Bennett of Seattle, Washington.[20][24]

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "JOHN C. WHITE, 83, A CAREER DIPLOMAT". The New York Times. 12 June 1967. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  2. ^ Times, Special To The New York (16 July 1927). "HENRY WHITE, NOTED DIPLOMAT, 77, DEAD; Former Ambassador to France and Italy Succumbs to Operation in Lenox. SIGNED VERSAILLES TREATY At London Embassy 17 Years -- Funeral Tomorrow -- Ashes to Be Buried in Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  3. ^ Adams, Henry; Levenson, Jacob C.; Samuels, Ernest; Vandersee, Charles (1982). The Letters of Henry Adams. Harvard University Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780674526860. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Henry White". history.state.gov. United States Department of State History - Office of the Historian. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "HENRY WHITE WEDS MRS. WM.D. SLOANE; Ex-Ambassador to France Is 70 and Daughter of Late Wm. H. Vanderbilt Is 68. RELATIVES ONLY AT NUPTIAL Ceremony in St. Bartholomew's Chapel Follows Issuing of License --Couple at Bride's City Home". The New York Times. 4 November 1920. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  6. ^ Times, Special To The New York (29 July 1946). "MRS. HENRY WHITE DIES IN LENOX AT 94; Daughter of W.H. Vanderbilt, Widow of Envoy to Paris, Gave Sloane Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  7. ^ "VANDERBILTS GIVE UP ANOTHER 5TH AV. SITE; Mrs. White's $3,500,000 Sale Leaves Family Only Two of Original Seven Homes. BENJAMIN WINTER BUYER Latest of Series of Big Deals by Him -- Only $700,000 Cash in One for $9,200,000. VANDERBILTS GIVE UP ANOTHER 5TH AV. SITE". The New York Times. 9 January 1926. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Some notable Ridgelys - Hampton National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Lewis Morris Rutherfurd" (PDF). New York Times. June 1, 1892. Retrieved 9 January 2014. Lewis Morris Kutherfurd died on Decoration Day at his home, Tranquility, N.J., in the seventy-sixth [sic] year of his age.
  10. ^ Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. ^ a b "J.C. WHITE TO WED ELIZABETH MOFFAT; Son of Ex-Ambassador to France and Italy Engaged to Daughter of Mrs. R.B. Moffat. IN DIPLOMATIC SERVICE He is Now on Duty at the State Department--His Fiancee a Debutante of Last Year". The New York Times. 17 March 1921. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Will Fly to New York on Leave". The New York Times. 8 September 1932. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Argentina Licenses American Flier". The New York Times. 17 August 1933. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "John Campbell White - People - Department History". history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  15. ^ "PORT AU PRINCE". The New York Times. 11 March 1941. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  16. ^ "MISS MOFFAT BRIDE OF JOHN C. WHITE; Daughter of Mrs. R.B. Moffat Marries Ex-Ambassador's Son in St. James's Church". The New York Times. 10 April 1921. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Elizabeth White, 94, An Environmentalist". The New York Times. 22 June 1993. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  18. ^ Fenzi, Jewell. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Program Foreign Service Spouse Series MARGARET WHITE BENNETT" (PDF). adst.org. Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  19. ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (1 December 1994). "William Tapley Bennett Jr., 77, Envoy to Dominican Republic". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  20. ^ a b Smith, J. Y. (1 December 1994). "W.T. BENNETT, AMBASSADOR FOR LBJ, DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. ^ "William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers". russelldoc.galib.uga.edu. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Margaret R. White Prospective Bride; Their Engagements Are Announced". The New York Times. 12 March 1945. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  23. ^ "MARGARET R. WHITE MARRIED IN JERSEY; Daughter of Ex-Ambassador to Peru Becomes Bride of Lieut. William T. Bennett Jr. WEARS IVORY SATIN GOWN Rev. Robert Bosher Performs Ceremony in Bernardsville Church--Reception Held". The New York Times. 24 June 1945. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Twins to William T. Bennetts Jr". The New York Times. 30 June 1950. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

External links

Diplomatic posts Preceded byRaymond Henry Norweb U.S. Ambassador to Peru 1941–1944 Succeeded byWilliam D. Pawley Preceded byFerdinand L. Mayer U.S. Ambassador to Haiti 1944–1945 Succeeded byOrme Wilson
United States Ambassadors to Peru
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