Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr.

Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. (December 17, 1897 – November 13, 1961) was an American diplomat who served as ambassador to several countries between the 1930s and 1961. He served in the United States Army during World War I and after World War II, reaching the rank of major general.[1]

Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr.
14th United States Ambassador to Spain
In office
May 25, 1961 – October 12, 1961
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byJohn Davis Lodge
Succeeded byRobert F. Woodward
1st United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
In office
July 12, 1943 – December 1, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byHimself (as Minister)
Succeeded byLaurence A. Steinhardt
1st United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office
November 3, 1942 – September 28, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byHimself (as Minister)
Succeeded byLincoln MacVeagh
1st United States Ambassador to Greece
In office
October 30, 1942 – March 16, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byHimself (as Minister)
Succeeded byAlexander Comstock Kirk
1st United States Ambassador to Norway
In office
May 13, 1942 – December 1, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byHimself (as Minister)
Succeeded byLithgow Osborne
1st United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office
May 8, 1942 – December 1, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byHimself (as Minister)
Succeeded byStanley Hornbeck
22nd United States Minister to Greece
In office
November 28, 1941 – October 30, 1942
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byLincoln MacVeagh
Succeeded byHimself (as Ambassador)
7th United States Minister to Czechoslovakia
In office
October 28, 1941 – July 12, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byWilbur J. Carr
Succeeded byHimself (as Ambassador)
5th United States Minister to Yugoslavia
In office
October 3, 1941 – October 3, 1942
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byArthur Bliss Lane
Succeeded byHimself (as Ambassador)
30th United States Minister to the Netherlands
In office
March 27, 1941 – May 8, 1942
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byGeorge A. Gordon
Succeeded byHimself (as Ambassador)
9th United States Ambassador to Belgium
In office
March 24, 1941 – December 1, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn Cudahy
Succeeded byCharles W. Sawyer
7th and 9th United States Minister to Norway
In office
March 20, 1941 – May 13, 1942
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byFlorence Harriman
Succeeded byHimself (as Ambassador)
In office
September 7, 1935 – May 21, 1937
Preceded byHoffman Philip
Succeeded byFlorence Harriman
5th United States Ambassador to Poland
In office
June 2, 1937 – December 1, 1943
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn Cudahy
Succeeded byArthur Bliss Lane
Personal details
Born(1897 -12-17)December 17, 1897
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedNovember 13, 1961(1961-11-13) (aged 63)
Washington, D.C., US
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1915; div. 1931)​
    Margaret Thompson Schulze
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1931; div. 1945)​
      Margaret Atkinson Loughborough
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1946⁠–⁠1961)​
      Children4, including Mary Duke Biddle
      Parent
      OccupationSoldier, diplomat
      Military service
      Allegiance United States
      Branch/service United States Army
      Years of service1917–1919; 1944–1955
      Rank Major General
      Battles/warsWorld War I
      World War II

      Early life

      Biddle was the son of millionaire Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr. (1874–1948), and Cordelia Rundell Bradley (1873–1947). A member of the Biddle family, he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 17, 1897. His father, grandson of banker Anthony Joseph Drexel and great-grandson of banker Nicholas Biddle, was an eccentric boxing fan. When he was ten years old, the younger Biddle was in an exhibition match with Bob Fitzsimmons, who knocked him into a wall with a punch traveling about two inches.[2]

      He graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, but never attended college.[3]

      Career

      In World War I, he first enlisted as a private, and was promoted to rank of captain. In the 1920s he engaged in several business ventures, which were known as social successes but financial failures. For example, he managed Belgian boxer René deVos, and invested in the St. Regis Hotel. A party he held for the boxer at the hotel was marked by the loss of many bottles of fine champagne (at great expense due to prohibition in the United States). "Guests" even tried to wheel out the piano before it was retrieved.[3]

      Biddle also made a deal to rent part of Central Park in New York City and open an expensive nightclub called Central Park Casino. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 many of his investments failed. The Casino was raided and shut down.[4]

      In 1931 he and other directors of the bankrupt Sonora Products Corporation of America (formerly Acoustic Products Company, in the phonograph and radio business) were sued by the Irving Trust Company. The directors were accused of diverting profits from stock sales into their own accounts. A district court dismissed the claims against the defendants, but the dismissal of Biddle and several others was reversed on appeal.[5][6]

      Diplomatic career

      After Biddle was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Norway on July 22, 1935, he settled the Irving case out of court to avoid a bond required before leaving the country to assume the post.[7] He presented his credentials on September 7, 1935. It was widely suspected he was a political appointee resulting from his support of the Democratic Party and George Howard Earle III, its 1934 successful candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania. However, his social skills made him and his wife ideally suited to being a diplomat.[3][8]

      On May 4, 1937, he was promoted to Ambassador to Poland and presented his credentials in Warsaw, Poland on June 2, 1937.[9] In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, which was a major cause of World War II. After Biddle's house was hit with bomb fragments, his family and embassy staff fled to various temporary quarters.[10] After the escape, he joined the Polish government in exile in France until June 1940, when he and his wife Margaret received transit visas from the Portuguese consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, in Bordeaux, and crossed into Portugal. They stayed in Estoril, at the Hotel Palácio, between 19 July and 31 July 1940.[11] On 1 August 1940, they boarded the S.S. Excalibur headed for New York City, arriving on 10 August.[12]

      On February 11, 1941, he also commissioned to the governments-in-exile of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Yugoslavia. Biddle arrived in London on March 14, 1941, and continued as ambassador through 1943.[9] During the period, he owned Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex, a country estate which was later sold to Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

      Later career

      In January 1944, Biddle resigned from the State Department and joined the Army as lieutenant colonel to serve on the staff of Dwight Eisenhower. His contacts with "underground" movements and free military units in occupied nations provided intelligence for the planning of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France.[13] He continued on Eisenhower's staff supervising European reconstruction after the war ended. In March 1951 he was promoted to brigadier general. At his promotion ceremony, Eisenhower pinned on one of Biddle's stars.

      In April 1955, he resigned from the Army to become Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania National Guard.[14] Nevertheless, as a member of the Army Reserve, he was promoted to major general in August.[15]

      In 1961, Biddle became the United States Ambassador to Spain, though he did not speak Spanish fluently;[16] in which he served until shortly before his death.[1]

      Personal life

      On June 16, 1915, Biddle married Mary Lillian Duke (1887–1960), a tobacco heiress who was the daughter of Benjamin Newton Duke.[17] They divorced in 1931 after having two children:

      • Mary Duke Biddle (1920–2012), who married Dr. Josiah Charles Trent. After his death, she married Dr. James Semans.[18]
      • Nicholas Duke Biddle (1921–2004), who was initially named Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle III, only to have his mother change his name following the divorce.[19]

      His second wife, whom he married in 1931, was Margaret Thompson Schulze (d. 1956), the only child of mining magnate William Boyce Thompson and recent divorcee of Theodore M. Schultze, a New York banker.[20] Through this marriage he had two stepchildren, (Margaret) Boyce Schulze and Theodore Schulze Jr, as well as a son before their divorce in 1945:[20]

      • Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle III, who died at birth.[21]

      He married as his third wife, in 1946, Margaret Atkinson Loughborough (1915–2013), the former wife of William Ellery Loughborough[22] and had two more children:

      • Margaret Biddle
      • Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle III (b. 1948)

      He died November 13, 1961, in Washington, D.C., at the Walter Reed Army Hospital.[1] He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[23] His cenotaph is at The Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia. After Biddle's death, she married, as her third husband, Colonel Edwinston Robbins.[24]

      Personal style

      A wealthy socialite, Biddle was known for being elegantly dressed. On October 4, 1943, he appeared on the cover of Life magazine.[25] The one published picture of Biddle without his impeccable suit was when he had to pack in a hurry to escape German bombers in Poland via Romania.[10] He was recognized in 1960 by George Frazier as one of the best dressed men in the US, on a short list with such stars as Fred Astaire. He was noted for his small number of fine custom-made suits[26] and his starched, horizontally-striped Charvet shirts.[27]

      Legacy

      His sister Cordelia Drexel Biddle wrote a book with Kyle Crichton about the family, focusing on her marriage with Angier Buchanan Duke who was the brother of Anthony's first wife. It was made into a play and the 1967 musical film The Happiest Millionaire. He was portrayed by Paul Petersen in the film.[28] His nephew Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995) also became a diplomat.[29][30]

      Diplomatic posts

      His multiple appointments from 1941 to 1943 were to governments-in-exile in London.

      Orders, decorations and medals

      Note – Ambassador Drexel also received numerous foreign orders and decorations.

      Lawsuit
      • Irving Trust Co. v. Deutsch, 73 F.2d 121 (2d. Cir. 1934), cert. denied, Biddle v. Irving Trust Company, 294 U.S. 708, 55 S.Ct. 405, 79 L.Ed. 1243 (1935)

      References
      1. "Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Dead; Ambassador to Spain Was 64; Envoy and Officer in World War II – Tributes Paid by Kennedy and Eisenhower". The New York Times. November 14, 1961. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
      2. "Letters to the editor". Life magazine. October 25, 1943. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      3. Noel F. Busch (October 4, 1943). "Ambassador Biddle: As multiple envoy to governments-in-exile, he is foremost U.S. expert on postwar plans and problems of Europe's courageous little nations". Life magazine. pp. 106–114, 117–120. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      4. Rosenzweig, Roy & Blackmar, Elizabeth (1992). The Park and the People: A History of Central Park. Cornell University Press. pp. 398–399. ISBN 0-8014-9751-5.
      5. "Business & Finance: Suits". Time magazine. July 20, 1931. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      6. "Irving Trust Co. v. Deutsch: Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1934 73 F.2d 121". Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      7. "Foreign Service: Athletic Christian". Time magazine. August 5, 1935. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
      8. "Do you know these U.S. Ambassadors?". Life magazine. November 28, 1938. p. 25. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      9. "Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle (1897–1961)". Biography by office of the Historian. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 19 March 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
      10. "U.S. Ambassador Bidle flees Poland after a 250-mile race against death from low-flying German warplanes". Life magazine. November 28, 1938. p. 29. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
      11. Exiles Memorial Center.
      12. Ellis Island Passenger Registration Records.
      13. "Biddle Resigns as Envoy to Exiles To Take Post With Invasion Army". New York Times. January 23, 1944. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
      14. Tony Leviero (April 14, 1955). "Biddle to Retire as Ridgway Aide: General, Former Ambassador, Slated to Head National Guard in Pennsylvania". New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
      15. "Reserve Officers Approved by Senate". The New York Times. August 2, 1955. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
      16. "Energetic Envoy; Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr". The New York Times. February 25, 1961. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
      17. "Miss Duke's bridal party: Plans for Her Marriage to A. J. Drexel Biddle Jr. on June 16" (PDF). The New York Times. May 13, 1915. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Plans have been completed for the wedding of Miss Mary Lillian Duke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin N. Duke, and A. J. Dexter Biddle, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Dester Biddle of Philadelphia, which is to take place on Wednesday afternoon, June 16 at 3 o'clock.
      18. "Duke descendant dies at 91 :: WRAL.com". WRAL.com. January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
      19. Douglas Martin (October 14, 2004). "Nicholas Duke Biddle, 83, Scion of Wealth Who Helped the Poor, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2011. Nicholas Duke Biddle, a scion of two prominent American families who helped refugees from Cuba and other Caribbean countries, died on Monday in Madrid. He was 83. The cause was a heart attack, his cousin Tony Duke said.
      20. "Margaret Biddle is Dead in Paris; American Heiress Wrote for U.S., French Publications – Shared in $85,000,000 Opened Home to Notables Honored in Yonkers Special to The New York Times". The New York Times. 9 June 1956. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
      21. "Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Ex-Envoy, Dies at 97". New York Times. August 31, 1967.
      22. "Col. A.D. Biddle Jr. to Wed in Germany; Ex-Envoy Will Marry Today in Frankfort Mrs. Margaret A. Loughborough, UNRRA Aide". The New York Times. 11 July 1946. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
      23. Burial Detail: Biddle, Anthony J – ANC Explorer
      24. "Col. Edwinston Robbins Weds Mrs. Biddle in Philadelphia". The New York Times. January 2, 1969. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
      25. Hans Wild (October 4, 1943). "Tony Biddle". Life. Front cover photo.
      26. George Frazier (September 1960). "The Art of Wearing Clothes". Esquire magazine. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
      27. "Icon, Icon A.J." Easy and Elegant Life. June 22, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
      28. The Happiest Millionaire at IMDb
      29. Richard Severo (May 1, 1995). "Angier Biddle Duke, 79, an Ambassador And Scion of Tobacco Family, Has Died". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
      30. "A Washington Duke genealogy as it pertains to Duke University". Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011. Shirts, including the famous ones with horizontally striped, starched bosoms come from Charvet in Paris.
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