J. Butler Wright

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J. Butler Wright
Third Assistant Secretary of State
In office
June 11, 1923 – June 30, 1924
Preceded byRobert Wood Bliss
Succeeded byoffice abolished
United States Ambassador to Cuba
In office
August 23, 1937 – December 4, 1939
Preceded byJefferson Caffery
Succeeded byGeorge S. Messersmith
United States Envoy to Czechoslovakia
In office
October 25, 1934 – June 1, 1937
Preceded byFrancis White
Succeeded byWilbur J. Carr
United States Envoy to Uruguay
In office
February 9, 1931 – July 10, 1934
Preceded byLeland Harrison
Succeeded byJulius G. Lay
United States Envoy to Hungary
In office
June 18, 1927 – October 24, 1930
Preceded byTheodore Brentano
Succeeded byNicholas Roosevelt
Personal details
BornOctober 18, 1877
Irvington, New York, United States
DiedDecember 4, 1939 (aged 62)
Havana, Cuba
EducationPrinceton University (B.S.)

Joshua Butler Wright (October 18, 1877 – December 4, 1939) was a United States diplomat who served as representative of the US in Hungary, Uruguay, Czechoslovakia, and Cuba. He was the twentieth and last Third Assistant Secretary of State.

Wright was born in Irvington, in Westchester County, New York, on 18 October 1877, the son of C. R. Wright. He attended the Lawrenceville School and then Princeton University, graduating with a B.S. degree in 1899. Wright worked as a banker in New York City from 1899 to 1906 and served in the New York National Guard from 1901 to 1907. He married Maude A. Wolfe of Tuxedo Park, in June 1902.[1][2]

In 1907, Wright became a rancher in Wyoming. While living in Cody, Wyoming, he passed the foreign service examination on May 17, 1909, and became a career diplomat. His first posting was in Honduras. Wright later served in Belgium, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom.[1][3] In May 1916, he married Harriet R. Southerland, the daughter of retired Rear Admiral William H. H. Southerland, in Washington, D.C. Wright and his second wife had two daughters.[4][5]

Butler Right with a diplomatic delegation.

In 1925, Wright was serving as Assistant Secretary of State under president Calvin Coolidge and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.[6]

Coolidge appointed Wright to serve as Envoy to Hungary in 1927. Herbert Hoover appointed Wright as Envoy to Uruguay in 1930, and Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Wright as Envoy to Czechoslovakia in 1934, and afterwards as the U.S. Ambassador to Cuba from 1937 to 1939. During his stint as ambassador to Cuba, the SS St. Louis with its cargo of mostly German Jewish refugees tried to land in Havana in 1939. This incident was the basis for the 1976 film Voyage of the Damned.

Wright died at his post in Havana on December 4, 1939, after an operation.[7] His remains were returned to the United States at the Washington Navy Yard aboard the cruiser USS Omaha. He was interred at the Washington National Cathedral on December 11, 1939.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Register of the Department of State. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1938-10-01. p. 195. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  2. ^ "Wright-Wolfe" (PDF). The New York Times. 1902-06-03. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  3. ^ Register of the Department of State. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1912-10-15. p. 114. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  4. ^ "News Notes of Smart Set: Wright-Southerland Nuptials". The Washington Post. 1916-05-28. p. ES6. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  5. ^ "Harriet Wright Dead; Wife of Ex-Ambassador". The Washington Post and Times Herald. 1958-05-16. p. D2. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  6. ^ "Clear Understanding". Time. 1925-02-09. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ "Milestones". Time. 1939-12-11. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  8. ^ "Officials Pay Last Tribute To J. B. Wright: Cathedral Services Held for U.S. Ambassador to Cuba". The Washington Post. 1939-12-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  • Wright, J. Butler; William Allison (2002). Witness to Revolution: The Russian Revolution Diary and Letters of J. Butler Wright. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97474-X. OCLC 48038358.
Government offices
Preceded by
Robert Wood Bliss
Third Assistant Secretary of State
June 11, 1923 – June 30, 1924
Succeeded by
Office Abolished
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Envoy to Hungary
June 18, 1927 – October 24, 1930
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Envoy to Uruguay
February 9, 1931 – July 10, 1934
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Envoy to Czechoslovakia
October 25, 1934 – June 1, 1937
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Cuba
August 23, 1937 – December 4, 1939
Succeeded by