H. Freeman Matthews

Harrison Freeman Matthews (May 26, 1899 – October 19, 1986) was a career American diplomat who served as Ambassador to three European countries.

H. Freeman Matthews
Matthews in the Netherlands, 1956
United States Ambassador to Austria
In office September 4, 1957 – May 25, 1962
President	Dwight Eisenhower
Preceded by	Llewellyn Thompson
Succeeded by	James Williams Riddleberger
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office November 25, 1953 – June 11, 1957
President	Harry Truman
Preceded by	Selden Chapin
Succeeded by	Philip Young
United States Ambassador to Sweden
In office December 5, 1947 – May 24, 1950
President	Harry Truman
Preceded by	Louis G. Dreyfus, Jr.
Succeeded by	W. Walton Butterworth
Personal details
Born	Harrison Freeman Matthews May 26, 1899 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	October 19, 1986 (aged 87) Washington, D.C.
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Rodgers Luke ​ ​ (m. 1925; died 1955)​ Helen Lewis Skouland ​ ​ (m. 1957; died 1966)​ Elizabeth Bluntschli ​ ​ (m. 1967; his death 1986)​
Occupation	Diplomat

Early life

Harrison Freeman "Doc" Matthews was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 26, 1899.[1]

He served in the United States Navy during World War I, and received bachelor's (1921) and master's (1922) degrees from Princeton University. From 1922 to 1923 he studied at the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, in Paris, France.[2]

Career

Matthews became a career employee of the United States Department of State, and his assignments included secretary positions in Budapest (1924 to 1926)[3] and Bogotá (1926 to 1929).[4] From 1930 to 1933 he served at the State Department as Deputy Chief of the Latin American Affairs Division.[5] In 1933, Matthews moved to a secretary position in Havana, Cuba, where he served until 1937.[6] He occupied a similar position in Paris, France from 1937 to 1940, and was the consul there from 1938 to 1940. During 1939 he was acting Ambassador to Spain.[7][8]

From 1940 to 1941 he was First Secretary in the U.S. embassy to France during the Vichy French government.[9][10] From 1941 to 1943 he was counselor at the American embassy in London, England.[11]

From 1943 to 1947, he served again at the State Department, assigned as Chief of the European Affairs Division and Director of the Office of European Affairs.[12][13] Matthews was Ambassador to Sweden from 1947 to 1950.[14][15] From 1950 to 1953, he served as Deputy Undersecretary of State.[16] He was acting Secretary of State for the one day between the departure of Dean Acheson and the swearing in of John Foster Dulles.[17]

In 1953, Matthews was appointed to succeed Selden Chapin as Ambassador to the Netherlands, and he remained in this post until 1957 when he was replaced by Philip Young.[18] He succeeded Llewellyn Thompson as the Ambassador to Austria from 1957 until his 1962 retirement when he was succeeded by James Williams Riddleberger.[19]

Later career

After his retirement from the Foreign Service, he served from 1963 to 1969 as a member of the CIA's Board of National Estimates and as the American chairman of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, between America and Canada, from 1963 to 1969.[1]

Personal life

In 1925, Matthews was married to Covington, Virginia born Elizabeth Rodgers "Frisk" Luke (1900–1955), daughter of Thomas Luke of Tarrytown, New York. Before his first wife's death from cancer in 1955, they were the parents of:[20]

• H. Freeman Matthews Jr. (1927–2006), who was also a career diplomat.[21]
• Thomas Luke Matthews (1933–1993), who married Emily Hill, daughter of Charles Beekman Hill Jr., in 1957.[22]

After the death of his first wife, in 1957 he remarried to Helen Lewis Skouland,[23] a former member of the United States Foreign Service who died aboard the MV Kungsholm in 1966.[24] He remarried for a third time to Elizabeth Bluntschli in 1967.[25]

Matthews died in Washington, D.C. on October 19, 1986.[26] He is buried at Friends Cemetery in Baltimore.[27]

References

1. "H. Freeman Matthews Sr. Papers". dla.library.upenn.edu. Princeton University. Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
2. U.S. Government Printing Office, The Biographic Register, 1958, page 468
3. Baltimore Sun, An Engagement Of Interest: Miss Elizabeth R. Luke Will Wed Mr. H. Freeman Matthews September 15 At Tarrytown, N.Y., August 30, 1925
4. New York Times, American Envoy Flies to Take Bogota Post, January 23, 1930
5. Bernard J. Reis, False Security: The Betrayal of the American Investor, 1937, page 106
6. J.D. Phillips, New York Times, Cuban Terrorists Warn U.S. Envoy, May 29, 1934
7. New York Times, Matthews Visits Madrid: U.S. Charge d'Affaires Praises Condition of Embassy, April 30, 1939
8. Who's Who in Government. Vol. 1. Marquis Who's Who. 1972. p. 326. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
9. New York Times, Petain Entertains Matthews, November 12, 1941
10. Chicago Tribune, U.S. Ambassador Confers With Petain, Darlan, July 20, 1941
11. Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Man to Become U.S. Counselor in Britain, December 6, 1941
12. Christian Science Monitor, Matthews to Head European Division, July 14, 1943
13. State, United States Dept of (1951). Biographic Register. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
14. Christian Science Monitor, Envoy Nominee Backed, July 19, 1947
15. New York Times, New Matthews Post Seen: Envoy to Sweden Expected to Get High Position in Washington, April 29, 1950
16. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v08/persons
17. New York Times, Interim Secretary of State May Serve for Few Hours, January 17, 1953
18. "H. F. Matthews, Of Baltimore, Made Ambassador To Holland". Baltimore Sun. October 2, 1953. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
19. "Envoys to Austria, Ivory Coast And Trinidad Are Designated; James W. Riddleberger, Who Once Directed Aid Plan, Is Given Post in Vienna". The New York Times. October 4, 1962. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
20. "Mrs. H. F. Matthews" (PDF). The New York Times. October 27, 1955. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
21. Hevesi, Dennis (July 26, 2006). "H. Freeman Matthews Jr., 78, Who Worked on Camp David Accords, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
22. "Emily Hill Is Bride of T.l. Matthews" (PDF). The New York Times. July 18, 1957. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
23. Times, Special to The New York (April 26, 1957). "H.F. Matthews Weds Mrs. H.J. Skouland" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
24. "Mrs. H.F. Matthews, Wife of an Ex-Envoy" (PDF). The New York Times. November 10, 1966. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
25. Smith, J. Y. (October 21, 1986). "H. F. Matthews, Career Envoy, Dies at Age 87". Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
26. Times, Special to the New York (October 21, 1986). "H. Freeman Matthews, Diplomat Since 1920s". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
27. Hoopes, E. Erick; Hoopes, Christina (1995). A Record of Interments at the Friends Burial Ground, Baltimore, Maryland. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 38. ISBN 9780806345536. Retrieved July 24, 2019.

External links

• Harrison Freeman Matthews biography, Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State
• H. Freeman Matthews at Find a Grave
• H. Freeman Matthews Papers at Princeton University Library