Ralph Elihu Becker
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Ralph Elihu Becker | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Honduras | |
| In office October 27, 1976 – August 1, 1977 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Phillip V. Sanchez |
| Succeeded by | Mari-Luci Jaramillo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 29, 1907 New York City, New York |
| Died | August 24, 1994 (aged 87) Washington, D.C. |
| Children | Ralph Becker |
| Alma mater | St. John's University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Ralph Elihu Becker, Sr. (January 29, 1907 – August 24, 1994) was an American diplomat and attorney who served as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1976–1977 under the Ford administration. He was a founding trustee of the National Center for the Performing Arts and served as its general counsel during the Eisenhower administration and until 1976.
Early life and education
Ralph Becker was born on January 29, 1907, in New York City, to a tailor from Lithuania and a mother from Minsk. He took night courses at the City College of New York earned his law degree from St. John's University law school in 1928.
Career
He served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in World War II as a part of the 30th Infantry Division. He landed in Normandy after D-Day and won a Bronze Star, along with medals from the Belgian, French, and Dutch governments.
After his discharge, he worked as a lawyer in Westchester County, New York.[1] He went to Washington, D. C. and became the chairman for the Young Republican National Committee. In the 1960s, he joined an Arctic expedition that he had helped sponsor, and brought back a pair of polar bears as a gift for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.. From 1976 to 1977, he was rewarded for his lifetime of loyal service to the Republican party with an appointment as Ambassador to Honduras.
Personal life
Becker died of congestive heart failure at the George Washington University Hospital on August 24, 1994. He was buried soon afterwards in Arlington National Cemetery.[2]
His son Ralph Elihu Becker, Jr. was elected Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah in 2007.
See also
References
- ^ Mak, Dayton; Kennedy, Charles Stuart (1992-08-21). American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with Senior Diplomats: Interviews with Senior Diplomats. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-06576-7.
- ^ "Ralph Elihu Becker, Captain, United States Army - Foreign Service Officer". www.arlingtoncemetery.net. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
External links
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- 1907 births
- 1994 deaths
- American people of Lithuanian descent
- American people of Belarusian descent
- Ambassadors of the United States to Honduras
- Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
- American army personnel of World War II
- United States Army officers
- College Republican National Committee chairs
- Politicians from New York City
- St. John's University School of Law alumni
- American diplomat stubs