William J. Sebald
{{Short description|American diplomat (1901–1980)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_name =
| image = William J. Sebald.jpg
| caption = Sebald in June 1957.
| imagesize =
| order =
| ambassador_from = United States
| country = Japan
| term_start = 1947
| term_end = 1952
| predecessor = Joseph Grew
| successor = Robert D. Murphy
| president = Harry S. Truman
| ambassador_from1 = United States
| country1 = Burma
| term_start1 = April 25, 1952
| term_end1 = July 15, 1954
| predecessor1 = David McK. Key
| successor1 = Joseph C. Satterthwaite
| president1 = Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
| ambassador_from2 = United States
| country2 = Australia
| term_start2 = March 14, 1957
| term_end2 = October 31, 1961
| predecessor2 = Douglas M. Moffat
| successor2 = William C. Battle
| president2 = Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|11|05}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1980|08|10|1901|11|05}}
| death_place = Naples, Florida, U.S.
| party =
| spouse = Edith Frances deBecker (m. 1927)
| profession = Lawyer, Diplomat
| alma_mater = U.S. Naval Academy
University of Maryland (JD)
| religion =
| footnotes =
| order2 = 8th
}}
William Joseph Sebald (November 5, 1901 – August 10, 1980) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Burma from April 1952 to July 1954, and to Australia from 1957 to 1961.
Education and career
Sebald graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1922.{{Cite web|title=Collection: William Sebald papers {{!}} Archival Collections|url=https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1078|access-date=2020-10-01|website=archives.lib.umd.edu}} Sebald moved to Kobe, Japan in 1925 as part of an officer's language program. Sebald resigned from the Navy in 1930.{{Cite news|last=Joyce|first=Maureen|date=1980-08-20|title=William Sebald, 78, Dies|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/08/20/william-sebald-78-dies/98c329d0-ca4d-4004-a7ef-5ce30ffa1646/|access-date=2020-10-01|issn=0190-8286}}
In 1933, Sebald earned his juris doctor degree specializing in international law from the University of Maryland. He moved back to Japan and practiced law at his father-in-laws firm from 1933 to 1939. Sebald also received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Maryland for his study and work in Japanese law in 1949.
Sebald served during World War II with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) back in the United States starting in 1939. Then he was on the staff of Admiral Ernest King. He was a political adviser to General Douglas MacArthur, with ambassador rank.
Sebald was U.S. Ambassador to Burma (1952–1954), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1954–1956), and Ambassador to Australia (1957–1961).
Personal life and death
Sebald met his wife Edith France deBecker in Kobe, Japan. They were married in 1927. He died from emphysema in Naples, Florida, on August 10, 1980, at the age of 78.
Works
- With MacArthur in Japan: A Personal History of the Occupation, Norton, 1965, {{ISBN|9780393336764}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|title=Oral History – Sebald, William J. (1901–1980)|url=http://www.usni.org/heritage/sebald|publisher=U.S. Naval Institute|accessdate=31 January 2013}}
- [https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/sebald-william-joseph William Joseph Sebald] at Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State
- {{cite web|title=William J. Sebald and the Occupation of Japan|url=http://www.asjapan.org/web.php/lectures/2006/11|publisher=The Asiatic Society of Japan|accessdate=31 January 2013}}
- [https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/MS_207.EAD.xml William J. Sebald Papers, 1887–1980 MS 207] held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box |title=U.S. Ambassador to Japan ad interim |before=Joseph Grew|after=Robert D. Murphy|years=1947–1952}}
{{succession box |title=U.S. Ambassador to Burma |before=David McK. Key|after=Joseph C. Satterthwaite|years=1952–1954}}
{{succession box |title=U.S. Ambassador to Australia | before=Douglas M. Moffat | after=William C. Battle | years=1957–1961}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Australia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebald, William J.}}
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Japan
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Myanmar
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Australia
Category:Diplomats from Baltimore
Category:United States Naval Academy alumni