Nicholas G. Thacher

Nicholas Gilman Thacher (August 20, 1915 – March 11, 2002) was a United States diplomat.

Early life and career

He was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1915 to John Hamilton Thacher and Edith Gilman Thacher. He had an older brother, John Jr., and an older sister, writer Edith Thacher Hurd.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Niel M.|title=Oral History Interview with Nicholas G. Thacher|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/thachern.htm|accessdate=April 4, 2015|publisher=Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum|date=May 28, 1992}} Thacher attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics.{{cite news|title=Nicholas Gilman Thacher '37|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/nicholas-gilman-thacher-%E2%80%9937|accessdate=April 5, 2015|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|date=February 12, 2003}} Upon graduation from Princeton, Thacher worked for Bankers Trust{{cite news|title=Nicholas G. Thacher, 86; U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1970s|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-18-me-passings18.3-story.html|access-date=April 5, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 18, 2002}} and simultaneously worked on a law degree from Fordham University. He entered officer training school and served aboard the USS Pensacola during World War II. He was discharged from the navy in January 1946.

Diplomatic career

Thacher joined the United States Foreign Service in 1947. He served in Karachi, Jeddah, Calcutta, and Tehran, where he was deputy ambassador to Iran.{{cite news|last1=Killgore|first1=Andrew|authorlink1=Andrew Killgore|title=Nicholas Gilman Thacher (1915-2002)|url=http://www.wrmea.org/2002-may/in-memoriam-nicholas-gilman-thacher-1915-2002.html|accessdate=April 5, 2015|work=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs|date=May 2002|page=84|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411093924/http://www.wrmea.org/2002-may/in-memoriam-nicholas-gilman-thacher-1915-2002.html|archivedate=April 11, 2015|via=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160307160913/https://business.highbeam.com/4987/article-1G1-86850633/nicholas-gilman-thacher Online]}} [https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-123438811/in-memoriam-nicholas-gilman-thacher-1915-2002 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410173115/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-123438811/in-memoriam-nicholas-gilman-thacher-1915-2002 |date=2015-04-10 }} He was named the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia on September 8, 1970, and retired on September 19, 1973.{{cite news|title=Nicholas Gilman Thacher (1919-2002)|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/thacher-nicholas-gilman|accessdate=April 5, 2015|publisher=Office of the Historian}}

Later life

In retirement, Thacher moved to San Francisco and worked for Wells Fargo. He also lectured at Stanford University.{{cite news|last1=Pena|first1=Michael|title=Nicholas Gilman Thacher|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Nicholas-Gilman-Thacher-2863375.php|accessdate=April 5, 2015|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=March 16, 2002}}

Thacher was married to Jean-Louise Naffziger, daughter of Howard Christian Naffziger and Louise McNear Naffziger,{{cite news|title=OBITUARY -- Louise McNear Naffziger|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Louise-McNear-Naffziger-3018187.php|accessdate=April 7, 2015|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=December 6, 1995}} from 1947 until his death in 2002 from pulmonary fibrosis. She died in 2010.{{cite news|title=Jean-Louise "Beenie" Naffziger Thacher Obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/jean-louise-thacher-obituary?id=21176962|accessdate=April 7, 2015|work=San Francisco Chronicle|via=Find A Grave|date=December 3, 2010}}