Warren Robinson Austin (November 12, 1877 – December 25, 1962) was an American politician and diplomat who served as United States Senator from Vermont and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
A native of Highgate Center, Vermont, Austin was educated in Highgate and Bakersfield, and also studied in Quebec to learn French. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1899, studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1902, and practiced in partnership with his father.
Austin settled in St. Albans, became active in politics as a Republican, and served in several local offices, including Grand Juror, Chairman of the city Republican committee, and State's Attorney of Franklin County (1904–1906). In 1908, he was chairman of the state Republican convention, and he served as Mayor of St. Albans from 1909 to 1910. From 1907 to 1915, Austin was a Commissioner for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1917, he moved to Burlington, where he continued to practice law. Austin's prominence continued to grow, and he served as a University of Vermont trustee from 1914 to 1941, and an attorney practicing before the United States Court for China from 1916 to 1917. Austin served as a special counsel for the state of Vermont from 1925 to 1927 during the process of setting the official boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire.
In 1931, Austin was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election, defeating Frank C. Partridge, who had been appointed to fill the vacancy after the death of Frank L. Greene. From 1939 to 1942, Austin was the Senate's Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip). In 1946 he resigned to accept president Harry S. Truman's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He took office in January, 1947, and was the first official holder of this post. Austin served until January 1953, when the Eisenhower administration took office. He resided in Burlington during his retirement, and died there in 1962. Austin was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.
Early life and education Austin was born in Highgate, Vermont on November 12, 1877,James G. Ryan, Leonard Schlup, Historical Dictionary of the 1940s, 2006, page 34 one of six children born to Chauncey Goodrich Austin and Ann Mathilda Robinson. He attended local schools and Bakersfield's Brigham Academy and also studied in Quebec to obtain fluency in French.The Rotarian, Austin: That Man from Vermont, September 1950, page 11 He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1899.George Derby, James Terry White, 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, Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, 1907, page 325The Rotarian magazine, Austin: That Man from Vermont, September 1950, page 11
Early career 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, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Volume 2, 1914, page 913Vermont Secretary of State, 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, 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, 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, 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, Warren R. Austin Collection: China period; description, retrieved February 18, 2014H. W. Wilson Co., 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, 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, 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, The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 57, 1977, page 135
United States Senator 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. Austin took his seat the next day, and won re-election in 1934 and 1940.Vermont State Archives, , 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. 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. In 1943 he became a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Due to a desire for partisan balance and his support for Truman's foreign policy goals, Austin was widely considered as a possible Truman nominee for the Supreme Court seat vacated by Owen Roberts in 1945. Carl Hatch pushed strongly the case for Austin. However, due to his age and Truman's lack of acquaintance with him, Austin lost out to Harold Hitz Burton. 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 Nations Ambassador
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, 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, 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, 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, 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, Celebrity Register: An Irreverent Compendium of American Quotable Notables, 1960, page 447
Memberships He was a member of the American Bar Association,American Bar Association (President 1923), Annual Report, 1918, page 202 Vermont Bar Association (president, 1923–24),Vermont Bar Association, Annual report, 1963, page 23 American Judicature Society, Loyal Legion,Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1943, page 585 Sons of the American Revolution,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, Warren R. Austin Collection: Chronological Biography, retrieved February 18, 2014 Freemasons,Grand Lodge of Vermont, Free and Accepted Masons, Well-Known Vermont Masons: James H. Douglas, Inaugurated Governor State of Vermont January 9, 2003 , retrieved February 18, 2014 Shriners,The New Age Magazine, Warren R. Austin Is 33rd Degree Mason, Volume 54, 1946, page 504 Elks,George T. Mazuzan, Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953, 1977, page 9 Owls,A. N. Marquis, Who's Who in New England, Volume 1, 1909, page 50 Odd Fellows,H. W. Wilson Co., Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 5, 1945, page 21 Rotary Club,The Rotarian magazine, Rotary Club Activities, April 1923, page 226 and the Kappa Sigma fraternity.Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Caduceus of Kappa Sigma, Volume 11, 1896, page 549
Later life An amateur orchardist, Austin tended to his trees and pursued other hobbies while living in retirement in Burlington.Vermont Historical Society, 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, Austin Suffers Stroke; Condition Listed as 'Serious', October 13, 1956 Austin died in Burlington on December 25, 1962. He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.United Press International, Pittsburgh Press, Warren Austin Dies, December 26, 1962
Honors 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, Who's Who in the United Nations, Volume 1, 1951, page 26University of Vermont, Warren R. Austin Collection: Timeline, retrieved February 18, 2014
He is memorialized in the Vermont State House Hall of Inscriptions.George T. Mazuzan, Warren R. Austin at the U. N., 1946-1953, 1977, page ii
Family