Born in
Washington, D.C., February 25, 1888, John Foster Dulles attended the public schools of
Watertown, NY then graduated from
Princeton University in 1908. He attended
the Sorbonne,
Paris, in 1908 and 1909 then graduated from the
law school of
George Washington University,
Washington, D.C., in 1911.
He was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in New York, N.Y. with the firm of
Sullivan & Cromwell where he eventually became a partner. He served as a special agent for
U.S. State Department in
Central America in 1917. During
World War I he: served as a captain and a major in the
United States Army Intelligence Service 1917-1918; assistant to chairman,
War Trade Board 1918; counsel to American Commission to Negotiate Peace 1918-1919; member of
Reparations Commission and
Supreme Economic Council 1919.
He Then served as a federal legal adviser for the
Polish Plan of Financial Stabilization 1927. Continuing his distinguished career of public service, we has appointed the American representative to the
Berlin Debt Conferences 1933 then served as a member of the United States delegation,
San Francisco Conference on World Organization in 1945. He also served as adviser to the
Secretary of State at the
Council of Foreign Ministers in
London in 1945,
Moscow and London 1947, and
Paris 1949.
He represented the United States to the General Assembly of the
United Nations 1946-1949 and acted as chairman of the United States delegation in Paris 1948.
His philanthropic roles included trustee of
Rockefeller Foundation and chairman of the board of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
He served on the New York State Banking Board 1946-1949 and was appointed as a
Republican to the
United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the
resignation of
Robert F. Wagner. He served from July 7, 1949, to November 8, 1949, when a duly elected successor qualified (Dulles ran as a
candidate for the vacancy and lost).
Dulles served as
United States representative to the Fifth General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1950 and consultant to the
Secretary of State in 1951-1952. He was appointed
Secretary of State by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served 1953-1959 He died in
Washington, D.C., May 24, 1959 and was burried in
Arlington National Cemetery,
Fort Myer, Va.