Warren Austin

Austin was born in Highgate, Vermont on November 12, 1877,James G. Ryan, Leonard Schlup, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-t3Hx4ASLKUC&pg=PA34 Historical Dictionary of the 1940s], 2006, page 34 one of six children born to Chauncey Goodrich Austin and Ann Mathilda Robinson.{{cite news |date=June 13, 1941 |title=Mrs. C. G. Austin Dies at St. Albans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-burlington-free-press-anne-mathilda/11281580/ |work=Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, VT |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com}} He attended local schools and Bakersfield's Brigham Academy and also studied in Quebec to obtain fluency in French.The Rotarian, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AEYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11 Austin: That Man from Vermont], September 1950, page 11 He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1899.George Derby, James Terry White, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ojcOAQAAMAAJ&q=%22brigham+academy%22 The National Cyclopedia of American Biography], Volume 60, 1981, page 319 He then studied law with his father, attained admission to the bar, and entered practice in 1902 in partnership with his father.William Hartley Jeffrey, [https://books.google.com/books?id=d4cUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA325 Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont], 1907, page 325The Rotarian magazine, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AEYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11 Austin: That Man from Vermont], September 1950, page 11

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.William Richard Cutter, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_c4UAAAAYAAJ&dq=warren+austin+%22st.+albans%22+%22grand+juror%22&pg=PA913 New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial], Volume 2, 1914, page 913Vermont Secretary of State, [http://www.sec.state.vt.us/municipal/pubs/who%27swho.html Who’s Who in Local Government], October, 2008

Austin was chairman of the Vermont Republican State Convention in 1908, and Mayor of St. Albans from 1909 to 1910.The Republican, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2ftKAQAAIAAJ&q=warren+austin+chairman+1908+vermont+republican+convention Warren Austin], Volumes 9-13, 1944, page 4

He served as a Commissioner for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1907 to 1915.United States Department of Justice, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mElEAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22court+of+appeals%22+commissioner+%22warren+r+austin%22&pg=PA191 Register of the Department of Justice and the Courts of the United States], 1918, page 191 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.Director, United States Mint, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lvBGAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22warren+r+austin%22+congress+mint+1912&pg=PA59 Annual report], 1913, page 59

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

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.University of Vermont, [http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/austin.ead.xml§ion=China%20Period Warren R. Austin Collection: China period; description], retrieved February 18, 2014H. W. Wilson Co., [https://books.google.com/books?id=zYgYAAAAIAAJ&q=%22warren+r.+austin%22+china+%22american+international+corporation%22+siems Current Biography Yearbook], Volume 5, 1945, page 18

In 1917 Austin moved to Burlington, where he continued to practice law.James G. Ryan, Leonard Schlup, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-t3Hx4ASLKUC&dq=%22warren+r+austin%22+burlington&pg=PA34 Historical Dictionary of the 1940s], 2006, page 34

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.Cornell University Law School, [https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/289/593 State of Vermont v. State of New Hampshire, 1933], retrieved February 18, 2014

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.James Terry White, [https://books.google.com/books?id=xctWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22+harold+arthur+stenographer The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography], Volume 57, 1977, page 135

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.Associated Press, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, [http://www.fultonhistory.com/Process%20small/Newspapers/Rochester%20NY%20Democrat%20Chronicle/Rochester%20NY%20Democrat%20Chronicle%201931/Rochester%20NY%20Democrat%20Chronicle%201931%20-%202544.pdf Austin Picked for Vermont's Senator], March 4, 1931 Austin took his seat the next day, and won re-election in 1934 and 1940.Vermont State Archives, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130503063614/http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/Officials/pdf/us_SenTerms.pdf United States Senators, Terms of Service]}}, 2013, pages 3, 5

In the Senate, Austin opposed the New Deal but championed internationalist causes, standing with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on issues such as Lend-Lease.Lysohir, John W., "Warren R. Austin and the Republican Embrace of Internationalism, senior thesis, Middlebury College, April, 2008. 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.Richard E. Darilek, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vit3AAAAMAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22+minority+leader 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 In 1943 he became a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Millennium Edition, 1816–2000, 2000, page 81

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.United Press, Altoona Mirror, Primaries Held in Four States, August 14, 1946Associated Press, Suggest Novel Way to Avert Strikes: Invite Union Plan; Four GOP Senators Urge New' Methods to Halt Crippling Strikes, December 11, 1946

File:Warren Austin holds up Soviet SMG at UN HD-SN-99-03037.JPEG-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.Associated Press, Atchison Daily Globe, Names Vermont Senator to United Nations Post], June 5, 1947Associated Press, Troy Record, Senator Austin Named to Succeed Slettinius, June 6, 1946

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.)Paul M. Edwards, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5gYCm0bM68sC&dq=%22warren+austin%22+first+united+nations+ambassador&pg=PA456 Korean War Almanac], 2006, page 456

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.Peter Gilbert, Vermont Public Radio, [http://www.vpr.net/episode/32456/warren-austin/ Warren Austin], September 7, 2005

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."Robert L. Beisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8LcEOW7hnWMC&dq=%22warren+austin%22+%22christian+spirit%22&pg=PT261 Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War], 2009 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.A. F. K. Organski, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrUgjHcCEKEC&dq=%22warren+r+austin%22+%22christian+spirit%22&pg=PA263 The $36 Billion Bargain: Strategy and Politics in U.S. Assistance to Israel], 1991, page 263

He retired after being succeeded by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in January 1953, at the start of the Eisenhower administration.Harper & Row, [https://books.google.com/books?id=G4A-AQAAIAAJ&q=%22warren+austin%22+ Celebrity Register: An Irreverent Compendium of American Quotable Notables], 1960, page 447

He was a member of the American Bar Association,American Bar Association (President 1923), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Low8AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22warren+r.+austin%22+american+bar+association&pg=PA202 Annual Report], 1918, page 202 Vermont Bar Association (president, 1923–24),Vermont Bar Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ze48AAAAIAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22 Annual report], 1963, page 23 American Judicature Society, Loyal Legion,Vermont Secretary of State, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kmMLAQAAIAAJ&q=loyal+legion Legislative Directory], 1943, page 585 Sons of the American Revolution,Sons of the American Revolution, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OojjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22+sons+of+the+american+revolution The Sons of the American Revolution Magazine], Volumes 57-59, 1962, page 34 Society of the Cincinnati (honorary),University of Vermont, [http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/austin.ead.xml Warren R. Austin Collection: Chronological Biography], retrieved February 18, 2014 Freemasons,Grand Lodge of Vermont, Free and Accepted Masons, [http://www.vtfreemasons.org/history/douglas.asp Well-Known Vermont Masons: James H. Douglas, Inaugurated Governor State of Vermont January 9, 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302133439/http://www.vtfreemasons.org/history/douglas.asp |date=March 2, 2014 }}, retrieved February 18, 2014 Shriners,The New Age Magazine, [https://books.google.com/books?id=e6tNAAAAMAAJ&q=montpelier Warren R. Austin Is 33rd Degree Mason], Volume 54, 1946, page 504 Elks,George T. Mazuzan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-9UsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22+elks Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953], 1977, page 9 Owls,A. N. Marquis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yk8DAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22austin%2C+warren%22+vermont+owls&pg=PA50 Who's Who in New England], Volume 1, 1909, page 50 Odd Fellows,H. W. Wilson Co., [https://books.google.com/books?id=zYgYAAAAIAAJ&q=%22austin+warren+r%22+vermont+odd+fellows Current Biography Yearbook], Volume 5, 1945, page 21 Rotary Club,The Rotarian magazine, [https://books.google.com/books?id=O0QEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22warren+r+austin%22+rotary+club&pg=PA226 Rotary Club Activities], April 1923, page 226 and the Kappa Sigma fraternity.Kappa Sigma Fraternity, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SP8SAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22warren+r+austin%22+shriner&pg=PA549 Caduceus of Kappa Sigma], Volume 11, 1896, page 549

An amateur orchardist, Austin tended to his trees and pursued other hobbies while living in retirement in Burlington.Vermont Historical Society, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nW4jAQAAMAAJ&q=orchard News and Notes], Volumes 11-15, 1959, page 42 In October 1956 he suffered a stroke that caused him to curtail many of his activities.Associated Press, Plattsburgh Press-Republican, [http://news2.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-press-republican/plattsburgh-press-republican-1956-july-october/plattsburgh-press-republican-1956-july-october%20-%201128.pdf Austin Suffers Stroke; Condition Listed as 'Serious']{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, October 13, 1956 Austin died in Burlington on December 25, 1962. He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.United Press International, Pittsburgh Press, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19621224&id=dcEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CU8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7215,2842774 Warren Austin Dies], December 26, 1962

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.Christian E. Burckel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1pVaAAAAIAAJ&q=studied+father Who's Who in the United Nations], Volume 1, 1951, page 26University of Vermont, [http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/austin.ead.xml Warren R. Austin Collection: Timeline], retrieved February 18, 2014

He is memorialized in the Vermont State House Hall of Inscriptions.George T. Mazuzan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-9UsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22warren+r+austin%22+vermont+%22state+house%22 Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953], 1977, page ii

In 1901 Austin married Mildred Marie Lucas.A. N. Marquis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yk8DAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22austin+warren+robinson%22+%22grand+juror%22&pg=PA50 Who's Who in New England], 1909, page 50Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, marriage record for Warren Robinson Austin and Mildred May Lucas, retrieved February 14, 2014 Their children included attorney Warren R. Austin Jr. (1902–1979),Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, birth entry for Warren Robinson Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, entry for Warren Robinson Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014 and career United States Army officer Edward Lucas Austin (1910–1980).Vermont Birth Records, 1909-2008, entry for Edward Lucas Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014U.S. Social Security Death Index, entry for Edward Lucas Austin, retrieved February 18, 2014

Warren Austin's brother Roswell M. Austin served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1925 to 1927.James Roger Sharp, Nancy Weatherly Sharp, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vvcLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22warren+r.+austin%22+brother+roswell American Legislative Leaders in the Northeast, 1911-1994], 2000, page 50Vermont Secretary of State, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9JNDAQAAIAAJ&q=roswell+austin+vermont+speaker Legislative Directory], 1981, page 140

{{Reflist|2}}

• George T. Mazuzan. Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953 (Kent State UP, 1977).

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• {{Find a Grave|46}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033521/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854201-2,00.html Ambassador to the World] TIME magazine article
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Category:1877 births

Category:1962 deaths

Category:20th-century mayors of places in Vermont

Category:Burials at Lakeview Cemetery (Burlington, Vermont)

Category:People from Highgate, Vermont

Category:People from St. Albans, Vermont

Category:Permanent representatives of the United States to the United Nations

Category:Politicians from Burlington, Vermont

Category:Republican Party United States senators from Vermont

Category:University of Vermont alumni

Category:Vermont Republicans

Category:Vermont lawyers

Category:State's attorneys in Vermont

Category:Members of the Odd Fellows

Category:20th-century United States senators