Amory Houghton
Amory Houghton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador toFrance | |
| In office April 17, 1957 – January 19, 1961 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | C. Douglas Dillon |
| Succeeded by | James M. Gavin |
| President of the Boy Scouts of America | |
| In office 1946–1951 | |
| Preceded by | Walter W. Head |
| Succeeded by | John M. Schiff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 27, 1899 Corning,New York,U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 1981(aged 81) Charleston, South Carolina,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Laura DeKay Richardson
(m.1921) |
| Relations | SeeHoughton family |
| Children | 5, includingAmory Jr.,James |
| Parent(s) | Alanson B. Houghton Adelaide Louise Wellington |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Awards | Legion of Honour |
Amory Houghton(July 27, 1899 – February 21, 1981)[1]served asUnited States ambassadorto France from 1957 to 1961[2]and as national president of theBoy Scouts of America.He was chairman of the board ofCorning Glass Works(1941–1961).[3]In 1959 he was elected as an honorary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati.
Early life
[edit]Houghton was born on July 27, 1899, inCorning, New York.He was the only son of four children born to Adelaide Louise (néeWellington) Houghton andAlanson B. Houghton,who served as aUnited States representativefromNew York,as well as theU.S. ambassador to GermanyandGreat Britain.His second cousin was actressKatharine Hepburn.
He was educated atSt. Paul's SchoolinConcord, New Hampshire,and graduated fromHarvard Universityin 1921.[4]
Career
[edit]After graduating from Harvard, Houghton began work in the blowing room of B Factory at Corning Glass Works (nowCorning Incorporated) in 1921. In 1926, he became assistant to the president and two years later was elected executive vice-president.[4]
In 1930, he became president and at the death of his father in 1941 chairman of the board. After leaving this position in 1961 he went on to serve as chairman of the executive committee from 1961 to 1964. He was then named chairman of the board again from 1964 to 1971.[4]
Houghton served as a director of theNational City Bank of New York(nowCitibank), theMetropolitan Life Insurance Company(nowMetLife), and theErie Railroad.[4]He was also on theHarvard Board of Overseers,was a trustee of theInstitute for Advanced StudyatPrinceton, New Jersey,and was a trustee ofEisenhower CollegeinSeneca Falls, New York.[1]
Public service
[edit]Houghton began his career in government as adollar-a-year manin 1941 when he was appointed assistant deputy director of the materials division in theOffice of Production Management.[5]An account cited that it was businessmanPhilip D. Reedwho recruited him to the OPM.[6]In this position, Houghton served as the liaison between the government and American manufacturers. It was reported that he was responsible for surmounting almost half the burden of the then production crisis.[5]
In January 1942, PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltreplaced the Office andSupply Priorities and Allocations Boardwith theWar Production Boardand Houghton was appointed deputy chief of the bureau of industry branches.[1]By August of the same year, he resigned and did not serve any government position after a Hartford-Empire, subsidiary of Corning, faced an antitrust suit.[5]He was also accused of monopolistic behavior and this particular case reached theSupreme Court.[7]
From 1943 to 1944, he was appointed as the chief mission officer for theLend-Lease Administration,[1]a program by which the United States supplied the Allied nations with food, oil, warships, warplanes, and with other weaponry duringWorld War II.[4]He was forced to resign in 1943 due to antitrust problems with a Corning subsidiary.[4]
On March 14, 1957, he was appointed theUnited States ambassador to Franceby PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower.He presented his credentials on April 17, 1957, and served until he left his post on January 19, 1961, shortly beforePresident Kennedytook office.[8]
Scouting
[edit]Houghton received theSilver Buffalo Awardin 1945 and served as thenational president of the Boy Scouts of Americafrom 1946 to 1951. He served on theWorld Scout Committeeof theWorld Organization of the Scout Movementfrom 1949 to 1955. He was awarded theBronze Wolf,the only distinction of theWorld Organization of the Scout Movement,awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1955.[9]
Personal life
[edit]In 1921, Houghton was married to Laura DeKay Richardson (d. 2003), the daughter of James Richardson ofProvidence, Rhode Island.[10]During his time as ambassador, his wife was referred toL'Ambassadrice Souriante(the Smiling Ambassadress) by theHerald Tribune.[10]Together, they were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, including:[11]
- Amory Houghton Jr.(1926–2020), who attended Harvard, worked at Corning, and served as aU.S. Representative from New York.
- Alanson Bigelow Houghton II (1930–2016), who Billie Fisher Carr and worked at Corning, later becoming an ordainedEpiscopal priest.[12]
- James Richardson Houghton(1936–2022),[13]who also attended Harvard and worked at Corning.
- Elizabeth Houghton, who married Sidney James Weinberg Jr. (1923–2010),[14]the son ofSidney Weinberg,theCEO of Goldman Sachs,[15]in 1951.[4]
- Laura DeKay Houghton, who married David Wells Beer, an architect in New York, in 1962.[16][17]
Houghton died at the Medical University Hospital inCharleston, South Carolina,on February 21, 1981.[1]
Descendants
[edit]Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was the grandfather of Elizabeth Livingston Weinberg,[15][18]Sydney Houghton Weinberg,Peter Amory Weinberg(born 1957), the co-founder ofPerella Weinberg Partnerswith merger specialist,Joseph Perellain 2006.[19]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^abcdeClark, Alfred E. (February 22, 1981)."AMORY HOUGHTON OF CORNING GLASS WORKS".The New York Times.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^Dimitroff, Thomas P.; Janes (1991).History of the Corning Painted Post Area.Corning, New York: Bookmarks. p. 285.ISBN0912939001.
- ^Dyer, Davis; Gross (2001).The Generations of Corning.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN0195140958.
- ^abcdefgIngham, John N. (1983).Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders.Greenwood Publishing Group.pp.625–628.ISBN9780313213625.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^abcStapleton, Craig Roberts; McCready, Louise French (2010).Where Liberty Dwells, There Is My Country: The Story of Twentieth-Century American Ambassadors to France.Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books. p. 118.ISBN978-0-7618-5143-1.
- ^Dyer, Davis; Gross, Daniel (2001).The Generations of Corning: The Life and Times of a Global Corporation.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 179.ISBN978-0-19-803231-1.
- ^Clarke, Sally H.; Lamoreaux, Naomi R.; Usselman, Steven W. (2009).The Challenge of Remaining Innovative: Insights from Twentieth-century American Business.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 95.ISBN978-0-8047-5892-5.
- ^"Amory Houghton - Department History".history.state.gov.Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^John S. Wilson (1959),Scouting Round the World.First edition, Blandford Press. p. 25, 190, 202, 266, 271
- ^ab"Paid Notice: Deaths HOUGHTON, LAURA RICHARDSON".The New York Times.12 April 2003.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^Who's Who in Commerce and Industry.Marquis Who's Who. 1965. p. 627.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"HOUGHTON--Rev. Alanson".The New York Times.January 27, 2016.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"James 'Jamie' Houghton, longtime Corning Chairman, dies at 86".22 December 2022.
- ^Hevesi, Dennis (5 October 2010)."Sidney J. Weinberg Jr., Former Goldman Executive, Dies at 87".The New York Times.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^ab"Elizabeth L. Weinberg Is Bride".The New York Times.11 May 1980.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"Miss Laura DeKay Houghton Engaged to David Wells Beer".The New York Times.January 22, 1962.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"Laura DeKay Houghton Bride of David W. Beer".The New York Times.29 April 1962.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"Elizabeth Smith, Richard Cotton: Weddings".The New York Times.13 May 2011.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^Chrystia Freeland and Julie MacIntosh (June 26, 2009)."View from the Top - Peter Weinberg, co-founder of Perella Weinberg".Financial Times.Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2016.RetrievedMarch 9,2018.
| Envoys to France (1776–1779) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Ministers Plenipotentiary to France (1778–1815) | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1816–1893) | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France (1893–present) | ||
