James Jeremiah Wadsworth Explained

Jerry Wadsworth
President:Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Office:Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
Term:May 5, 1965 - October 31, 1969
Office1:4th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
President1:Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Term Start1:September 8, 1960
Term End1:January 21, 1961
Predecessor1:Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Successor1:Adlai Stevenson II
Office2:Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration
President2:Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term Start2:November 15, 1952
Term End2:February 20, 1953
Predecessor2:Millard F. Caldwell
Successor2:Val Peterson
Birth Date:12 June 1905
Birth Place:Groveland, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Rochester, New York, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Harty Griggs Tilton
Education:Yale University (BA)

James Jeremiah "Jerry" Wadsworth (June 12, 1905 – March 13, 1984)[1] was an American politician and diplomat from New York.

Early life

A member of the prominent Genesee Valley Wadsworths, James J. Wadsworth was born in Groveland, New York on June 12, 1905. He was a direct descendant of pioneer William Wadsworth, a founder of Hartford, Connecticut.

His great-grandfather, James S. Wadsworth, was a Union general in the American Civil War, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864. Both his grandfather, James Wolcott Wadsworth, and his father, James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr., represented New York in Congress. His other grandfather was United States Secretary of State John Hay. His sister Evelyn was married to William Stuart Symington; they were the parents of James Wadsworth Symington, his nephew.

Wadsworth graduated from Fay School in 1918,[2] from St. Mark's School, and from Yale University in 1927,[1] where he was a member of Skull and Bones.[3]

Career

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Livingston Co.) in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939–40 and 1941. He resigned his seat in 1941.

He was medically unfit for World War II because of an injured leg, but aided the war effort as an assistant manager at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation plant in Buffalo, New York. In 1950, he became deputy administrator of the civil defense office for the National Security Resources Board, which drafted many of the civil defense plans that were prepared at the height of the Cold War.

From 1953 to 1960, Wadsworth was Deputy Chief of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. He was appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations by President Eisenhower, and he served from 1960 to 1961.

In 1965, President Johnson appointed Wadsworth to the Federal Communications Commission, and he served until 1970. Wadsworth left the FCC to join the American team negotiating a charter for the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (Intelsat).

Personal life

In 1927, Wadsworth was married to Harty Griggs Tilton (1906–1965), a daughter of Benjamin Trowbridge Tilton and Anna Billings (née Griggs) Tilton. Together, they were the parents of:[4]

He died in Rochester, New York on March 13, 1984. He was buried at Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo.[6]

Bibliography

External links

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Notes and References

  1. "James J(eremiah) Wadsworth." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
  2. Web site: Facts On File History Database Center. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111151205/http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=TDEY500&DataType=AmericanHistory&WinType=Free . November 11, 2013 .
  3. News: YALE'S 'TAP DAY' CLOSE AT HAND: Four Senior Societies Will Pick Their New Members on the Campus on Thursday. SIXTY MEN TO BE CHOSEN Honors Usually Go to Juniors Who Have Rendered Special Service to Their Class. . . 9 May 1926 . 2.
  4. Book: Commerce . United States Congress Senate . Adams, Bagge, Donner, Ross, Trowbridge and Wadsworth Nominations, Hearing, 89-1, April 13, 27, 1965 . 1965 . 32 . 30 June 2020 . en.
  5. News: Baker. Conrad. General James Wadsworth's House Opens for Weddings. February 16, 2018. Genesee Sun. February 15, 2016.
  6. News: Treaster. Joseph B.. James J. Wadsworth Dies at 78; Headed U.s. Delegation to U.n.. February 16, 2018. The New York Times. March 15, 1984.