Warren Austin

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A native of Highgate Center, Vermont, Austin was educated in Highgate and Bakersfield, and also studied in Quebec to learn French. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1899, studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1902, and practiced in partnership with his father.

Austin settled in St. Albans, became active in politics as a Republican, and served in several local offices, including Grand Juror, Chairman of the city Republican committee, and State's Attorney of Franklin County (1904–1906). In 1908, he was chairman of the state Republican convention, and he served as Mayor of St. Albans from 1909 to 1910. From 1907 to 1915, Austin was a Commissioner for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1917, he moved to Burlington, where he continued to practice law. Austin's prominence continued to grow, and he served as a University of Vermont trustee from 1914 to 1941, and an attorney practicing before the United States Court for China from 1916 to 1917. Austin served as a special counsel for the state of Vermont from 1925 to 1927<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> during the process of setting the official boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire.

In 1931, Austin was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election, defeating Frank C. Partridge, who had been appointed to fill the vacancy after the death of Frank L. Greene. From 1939 to 1942, Austin was the Senate's Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip). In 1946 he resigned to accept president Harry S. Truman's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He took office in January, 1947, and was the first official holder of this post. Austin served until January 1953, when the Eisenhower administration took office. He resided in Burlington during his retirement, and died there in 1962. Austin was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.

Early life and educationEdit

Austin was born in Highgate, Vermont on November 12, 1877,<ref>James G. Ryan, Leonard Schlup, Historical Dictionary of the 1940s, 2006, page 34</ref> one of six children born to Chauncey Goodrich Austin and Ann Mathilda Robinson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He attended local schools and Bakersfield's Brigham Academy and also studied in Quebec to obtain fluency in French.<ref>The Rotarian, Austin: That Man from Vermont, September 1950, page 11</ref> He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1899.<ref>George Derby, James Terry White, The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume 60, 1981, page 319</ref> He then studied law with his father, attained admission to the bar, and entered practice in 1902 in partnership with his father.<ref>William Hartley Jeffrey, Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, 1907, page 325</ref><ref>The Rotarian magazine, Austin: That Man from Vermont, September 1950, page 11</ref>

Early careerEdit

A Republican, he held local offices in St. Albans, including Grand Juror and Chairman of the Republican committee. (In Vermont, Grand Jurors used to serve as city and town prosecutors. After revisions of the court system, it is now a vestige or legacy office.) In 1904 he was elected State's Attorney of Franklin County, a position he held for two years.<ref>William Richard Cutter, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Volume 2, 1914, page 913</ref><ref>Vermont Secretary of State, Who’s Who in Local Government, October, 2008</ref>

Austin was chairman of the Vermont Republican State Convention in 1908, and Mayor of St. Albans from 1909 to 1910.<ref>The Republican, Warren Austin, Volumes 9-13, 1944, page 4</ref>

He served as a Commissioner for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1907 to 1915.<ref>United States Department of Justice, Register of the Department of Justice and the Courts of the United States, 1918, page 191</ref> In 1912, he served on the Assay Commission for the United States Mint, which reviewed Mint operations by examining and testing coins for weight and fineness.<ref>Director, United States Mint, Annual report, 1913, page 59</ref>

In 1914 he was appointed a trustee of the University of Vermont in 1914, a position that he retained until 1941.<ref>Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1943, page 585</ref>

From 1916 to 1917, he practiced before the United States Court for China as the representative of the American International Corporation and the Siems-Carey Railway & Canal Company.<ref>University of Vermont, Warren R. Austin Collection: China period; description, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref><ref>H. W. Wilson Co., Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 5, 1945, page 18</ref>

In 1917 Austin moved to Burlington, where he continued to practice law.<ref>James G. Ryan, Leonard Schlup, Historical Dictionary of the 1940s, 2006, page 34</ref>

From 1925 to 1937, Austin served as a special counsel for Vermont during the process of setting the official boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire, working with John G. Sargent.<ref>Cornell University Law School, State of Vermont v. State of New Hampshire, 1933, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref>

In the early 1930s, Austin employed Harold J. Arthur as a stenographer. Arthur studied law with Austin, attained admission to the bar, and later served as Governor of Vermont.<ref>James Terry White, The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 57, 1977, page 135</ref>

United States SenatorEdit

He was elected to the Senate on March 31, 1931, defeating appointed Senator Frank C. Partridge in the special election to complete the term of the deceased Frank L. Greene.<ref>Associated Press, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Austin Picked for Vermont's Senator, March 4, 1931</ref> Austin took his seat the next day, and won re-election in 1934 and 1940.<ref>Vermont State Archives, Template:Usurped, 2013, pages 3, 5</ref>

In the Senate, Austin opposed the New Deal but championed internationalist causes, standing with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on issues such as Lend-Lease.<ref>Lysohir, John W., "Warren R. Austin and the Republican Embrace of Internationalism, senior thesis, Middlebury College, April, 2008.</ref> He became Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip) in 1939, served until 1942, and acted as Minority Leader during incumbent Charles L. McNary's run for Vice President in 1940.<ref>Richard E. Darilek, A Loyal Opposition in Time of War: The Republican Party and the Politics of Foreign Policy from Pearl Harbor to Yalta, 1976, pages 19, 61</ref> In 1943 he became a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.<ref>U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Millennium Edition, 1816–2000, 2000, page 81</ref>

Austin resigned his Senate seat on August 2, 1946, to become the US Ambassador to the United Nations. In November, he was succeeded by Ralph E. Flanders.<ref>United Press, Altoona Mirror, Primaries Held in Four States, August 14, 1946</ref><ref>Associated Press, Suggest Novel Way to Avert Strikes: Invite Union Plan; Four GOP Senators Urge New' Methods to Halt Crippling Strikes, December 11, 1946</ref>

United Nations AmbassadorEdit

File:Warren Austin holds up Soviet SMG at UN HD-SN-99-03037.JPEG

Austin demonstrates a captured Soviet-made submachine gun to the United Nations Security Council in 1951, to demonstrate Soviet support for North Korea during the Korean War.

In June 1946, President Harry S. Truman nominated Austin to be Ambassador to the United Nations. Because of the provision in the US Constitution prohibiting members of Congress from accepting an office created during their terms, he could not assume the post until January, 1947. As a result, Truman appointed Austin Special Representative to the President and advisor to UN Ambassador Herschel Johnson.<ref>Associated Press, Atchison Daily Globe, Names Vermont Senator to United Nations Post], June 5, 1947</ref><ref>Associated Press, Troy Record, Senator Austin Named to Succeed Slettinius, June 6, 1946</ref>

When he did take office in January, 1947 Austin was the first official U.S. Ambassador to the UN. (Edward Stettinius, Jr. and Johnson had been representatives to the United Nations Conference on International Organization, the body that established the full United Nations.)<ref>Paul M. Edwards, Korean War Almanac, 2006, page 456</ref>

He was a key figure at the start of the Cold War. During his term, the UN was involved in the creation of Israel and was also involved when India and Pakistan fought the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and were partitioned. In 1948, there was a Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, the Soviets blockaded Berlin and precipitated the Berlin Airlift, and Congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created, and Mao Tse-tung established the People's Republic of China. In 1950, China annexed Tibet and North Korea invaded South Korea. The UN debated, considered responses and took action on all of these issues, and Austin became known internationally for his advocacy of Western Bloc positions.<ref>Peter Gilbert, Vermont Public Radio, Warren Austin, September 7, 2005</ref>

Austin's term at the UN is also remembered for a supposed quote that is likely not completely accurate. In discussing the conflict between the Muslim Palestinian people and the Jewish people of Israel at Israel's founding, Austin supposedly said, "I hope Arabs and Jews will settle their differences in a truly Christian spirit."<ref>Robert L. Beisner, Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War, 2009</ref> According to his deputy, the language of that supposed quote was inexact when it was reported by the media, and Austin was attempting to communicate that as a Christian, he would not show partiality to either Muslims or Jews in the dispute over the creation of Israel.<ref>A. F. K. Organski, The $36 Billion Bargain: Strategy and Politics in U.S. Assistance to Israel, 1991, page 263</ref>

He retired after being succeeded by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in January 1953, at the start of the Eisenhower administration.<ref>Harper & Row, Celebrity Register: An Irreverent Compendium of American Quotable Notables, 1960, page 447</ref>

MembershipsEdit

He was a member of the American Bar Association,<ref>American Bar Association (President 1923), Annual Report, 1918, page 202</ref> Vermont Bar Association (president, 1923–24),<ref>Vermont Bar Association, Annual report, 1963, page 23</ref> American Judicature Society, Loyal Legion,<ref>Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1943, page 585</ref> Sons of the American Revolution,<ref>Sons of the American Revolution, The Sons of the American Revolution Magazine, Volumes 57-59, 1962, page 34</ref> Society of the Cincinnati (honorary),<ref>University of Vermont, Warren R. Austin Collection: Chronological Biography, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref> Freemasons,<ref>Grand Lodge of Vermont, Free and Accepted Masons, Well-Known Vermont Masons: James H. Douglas, Inaugurated Governor State of Vermont January 9, 2003 Template:Webarchive, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref> Shriners,<ref>The New Age Magazine, Warren R. Austin Is 33rd Degree Mason, Volume 54, 1946, page 504</ref> Elks,<ref>George T. Mazuzan, Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953, 1977, page 9</ref> Owls,<ref>A. N. Marquis, Who's Who in New England, Volume 1, 1909, page 50</ref> Odd Fellows,<ref>H. W. Wilson Co., Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 5, 1945, page 21</ref> Rotary Club,<ref>The Rotarian magazine, Rotary Club Activities, April 1923, page 226</ref> and the Kappa Sigma fraternity.<ref>Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Caduceus of Kappa Sigma, Volume 11, 1896, page 549</ref>

Later lifeEdit

An amateur orchardist, Austin tended to his trees and pursued other hobbies while living in retirement in Burlington.<ref>Vermont Historical Society, News and Notes, Volumes 11-15, 1959, page 42</ref> In October 1956 he suffered a stroke that caused him to curtail many of his activities.<ref>Associated Press, Plattsburgh Press-Republican, Austin Suffers Stroke; Condition Listed as 'Serious'Template:Dead link, October 13, 1956</ref> Austin died in Burlington on December 25, 1962. He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.<ref>United Press International, Pittsburgh Press, Warren Austin Dies, December 26, 1962</ref>

HonorsEdit

Austin received honorary degrees from Columbia University, Norwich University, Bates College, Princeton University, Lafayette College, the University of Vermont, Dartmouth College, Boston University, American University, the University of the State of New York, and the University of Santo Domingo.<ref>Christian E. Burckel, Who's Who in the United Nations, Volume 1, 1951, page 26</ref><ref>University of Vermont, Warren R. Austin Collection: Timeline, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref>

He is memorialized in the Vermont State House Hall of Inscriptions.<ref>George T. Mazuzan, Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953, 1977, page ii</ref>

FamilyEdit

In 1901 Austin married Mildred Marie Lucas.<ref>A. N. Marquis, Who's Who in New England, 1909, page 50</ref><ref>Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, marriage record for Warren Robinson Austin and Mildred May Lucas, retrieved February 14, 2014</ref> Their children included attorney Warren R. Austin Jr. (1902–1979),<ref>Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, birth entry for Warren Robinson Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref><ref>Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, entry for Warren Robinson Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref> and career United States Army officer Edward Lucas Austin (1910–1980).<ref>Vermont Birth Records, 1909-2008, entry for Edward Lucas Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref><ref>U.S. Social Security Death Index, entry for Edward Lucas Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014</ref>

Warren Austin's brother Roswell M. Austin served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1925 to 1927.<ref>James Roger Sharp, Nancy Weatherly Sharp, American Legislative Leaders in the Northeast, 1911-1994, 2000, page 50</ref><ref>Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1981, page 140</ref>