Willard Thorp Explained

Willard Thorp
Office:1st Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
Term Start:1946
Term End:1952
President:Harry S. Truman
Preceded:Office established
Successor:Harold F. Linder
Birth Name:Willard Long Thorp
Birth Date:24 May 1899
Birth Place:Oswego, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Pelham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma Mater:Amherst College
Occupation:economist
statistician[1]
academic
public servant

Willard Long Thorp (May 24, 1899  - May 10, 1992) was an American economist and academic. [2] He served three US Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower as an advisor in both domestic and foreign affairs. He helped draft the Marshall Plan and was also prominent in business and education.[3]

Biography

He was born on 24 May 1899 in Oswego, New York. He was raised in Chelsea, Massachusetts and Duluth, Minnesota.He graduated Amherst College in 1920.[4] In 1939 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.[5] [1]

He was Assistant Secretary of State under Truman for Economic Affairs 1946 - 1952;[3] [6] a member of the U.S. delegation serving as special adviser on economic matters at the Paris Peace Conference of 1946;[3] special adviser on economic matters at the New York meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in 1946;[7] and American representative to the United Nations General Assembly, 1947 - 48.[7]

He came under great strain during the McCarthy 'witch-hunt' investigations into alleged Communists 1950 - 1954[7] and eventually resigned, becoming a professor at Amherst College again instead.[3] In 1957, he served for a number of weeks as interim president of the college.

He died on 10 May 1992 in Pelham, Massachusetts.

Works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Thorp, Willard L. . Statistics and Foreign Policy (Presidential Address Delivered at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association on December 29, 1947). Journal of American Statistical Association . 43 . 241 . March 1948 . 2280063. 1–11.
  2. Lambert, Bruce . Willard L. Thorp, 92, Economist Who Helped Draft Marshall Plan . The New York Times . 11 May 1992 . 19 June 2024.
  3. .
  4. Web site: Collection: Willard L. (AC 1920) and Clarice Brows Thorp Papers Amherst College - ArchivesSpace . 2023-03-03 . archivesspace.amherst.edu.
  5. http://www.amstat.org/awards/fellowslist.cfm View/Search Fellows of the ASA
  6. Thorp, Willard . International Agreements and International Trade . Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science . 22 . 3 . 1172933 . 60–73 . May 1947. 10.2307/1172933 .
  7. .