Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson | |
|---|---|
| File:Dean Acheson.jpg | |
| 51st United States Secretary of State | |
| In office January 21, 1949 – January 20, 1953 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | George C. Marshall |
| Succeeded by | John Foster Dulles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dean Gooderham Acheson April 11, 1893 Middletown, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1971 (aged 78) Sandy Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Caroline Stanley (1917 - 1971, his death) |
| Children | David Campion Acheson Jane Acheson Brown Mary Eleanor Acheson Bundy |
| Alma mater | Yale College Harvard Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States National Guard |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced /ˈætʃɪsən/;[1] April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life[change]
Acheson was born in Middletown, Connecticut. He studied at Yale College and at Harvard Law School. He married Alice Stanley in 1917.
Secretary of State[change]
Acheson served as the 51st United States Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman. He served as Secretary of State from January 1949 to January 1953. He helped defend America's foreign policy during the break of the Cold War.[2]
Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam.
Kennedy Administration[change]
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Personal life[change]
Acheson and his wife Alice had three children; David, Jane, and Mary. He remained married to Alice until his death in 1971. He retired shortly after 1955.
Awards[change]
Acheson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1970.
Death[change]
Acheson died in Sandy Spring, Maryland from a massive stroke. He was 78 years old. He was survived by his two surviving children, David and Mary. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C..
References[change]
- ↑ "Dean Acheson - Definition and pronunciation | Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com". Archived from the original on 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
- ↑ Thorne, J.O.; Collocott, T.C. (1984). Chambers Biographical Dictionary. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-550-18022-3.
Other websites[change]
File:Commons-logo.svg Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 47: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- 1893 births
- 1971 deaths
- Deaths from stroke
- Lawyers from Connecticut
- United States Secretaries of State
- Democratic Party (United States) politicians
- Politicians from Connecticut
- 20th-century American politicians
- American diplomats
- American people of World War II
- American political writers
- Deaths from cerebral infarction
- Episcopalians
- Harvard University alumni
- Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
- People from Maryland
- People of the Korean War
- Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
- Pulitzer Prize winners
- Writers from Connecticut
- Yale University alumni