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Henry J. Taylor

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Henry J. Taylor
Born
Henry Junior Taylor

(1902-09-02)September 2, 1902
DiedFebruary 24, 1984(1984-02-24) (aged 81)
Alma materUniversity of Virginia
Occupation(s)Author, journalist, broadcaster, diplomat
Known forU.S. Ambassador to Switzerland

Henry Junior Taylor (September 2, 1902 – February 24, 1984) was an American author, economist, radio broadcaster and former United States Ambassador to Switzerland (1957–1961).[1][2]

Taylor was born in Chicago to Henry Noble and Eileen O'Hare Taylor. He graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1920 and the University of Virginia in 1924.[3] He served as a foreign correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain in the early years of World War II. After the war, Taylor hosted the General Motors-sponsored radio program Your Land and Mine, on which he was known for his conservative commentary.[4] Taylor was a columnist for the United Feature Syndicate after serving as Ambassador. He authored several nonfiction books, including An American Speaks His Mind and It Must Be a Long War, and a novel, The Big Man.[1]

In 1959 an anonymous source identifying themselves as 'Sniper' wrote a series of letters to Taylor, as American Ambassador to Switzerland.[5] These revealed much useful intelligence and would be regarded as the British Security Service's 'finest post-war investigation'.[6] This included the arrest of Swedish Air Force Colonel Stig Wennerström, as a spy for the Soviet Union.[5] In December 1960, 'Sniper' was revealed as the Polish Military Intelligence officer Michał Goleniewski, who then defected to the US.[7]

He won a Human Interest Storytelling Ernie Pyle Award in 1959 from the Scripps Howard Foundation.[8] He is credited with introducing kabuki as a term used by American political pundits as a synonym for political posturing.[9]

Taylor died at his home in Manhattan at the age of 81.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Henry J. Taylor, 81, Author And Ex-Envoy to Switzerland". The New York Times. February 25, 1984. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ^ "U.S. Ambassadors in Switzerland". U.S. Embassy in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Nomination of Henry J. Taylor to be United States Ambassador to Switzerland" (Press release). U.S. Department of State. April 12, 1957.
  4. ^ Fones-Wolf, Elizabeth (1999). "Creating a Favorable Business Climate: Corporations and Radio Broadcasting, 1934 to 1954". The Business History Review. 73 (2): 240. doi:10.2307/3116241. ISSN 0007-6805. JSTOR 3116241. S2CID 155074347. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  5. ^ a b West, Nigel (1982). A Matter of Trust: MI5 1945–72. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p. 66. ISBN 0-297-78253-3.
  6. ^ West (1982), p. 65.
  7. ^ West (1982), p. 70.
  8. ^ "Past Winners" (PDF). Scripps Howard Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  9. ^ Lackman, Jon (April 14, 2010). "It's Time To Retire Kabuki: The word doesn't mean what pundits think it does". Slate.
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