Alanson B. Houghton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 40thUnited States Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
| In office April 27, 1925 – March 28, 1929 | |
| President | Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover |
| Preceded by | Frank B. Kellogg |
| Succeeded by | Charles G. Dawes |
| United States Ambassador to Germany | |
| In office April 22, 1922 – February 21, 1925 | |
| President | Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge |
| Preceded by | Ellis Loring Dresel (as Chargé d'Affaires) |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Gould Schurman |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New York's37th district | |
| In office March 4, 1919 – February 28, 1922 | |
| Preceded by | Harry H. Pratt |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Henry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alanson Bigelow Houghton (1863-10-10)October 10, 1863 |
| Died | September 15, 1941(1941-09-15) (aged 77) |
| Party | Republican |
| Children | Amory Houghton |
| Relatives | Houghton family |
| Residence(s) | Corning, New York, US |
| Signature | .png) |
Alanson Bigelow Houghton (October 10, 1863 – September 15, 1941) was an American businessman, politician, and diplomat who served as aCongressman and Ambassador. He was a member of theRepublican Party.
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Alanson B. Houghton was born on October 10, 1863, inCambridge,Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He was the son of Ellen Ann (Bigelow) and Amory Houghton Jr. (1837–1909), who would later be President of theCorning Glass Works, the company founded by Alanson's grandfather Amory Houghton Sr. in 1851.[1][2]
In 1868, his family moved toCorning,New York. He attended the Corning Free Academy in Corning andSt. Paul's School inConcord, New Hampshire. Houghton graduated fromHarvard University in 1886 and then pursued postgraduate courses in Europe.[2] He attended graduate school inGöttingen, Berlin, and Paris until 1889.[2]
Upon his return to Corning in 1889, Houghton began work for his family's business,Corning Glass Works. He served as vice president of the company from 1902 to 1910, and as the company's president from 1910 to 1918. Under Houghton's leadership, the company tripled in size to become one of the largest producers of glass products in the United States. The company manufactured 40% of incandescent light bulbs and 75% of the railway signal glass used in the U.S.
Houghton's interest in and promotion of education, particularly in westernNew York state, led to his being appointed a trustee ofHobart College in 1917.
He was a member of theJekyll Island Club (aka The Millionaires Club) onJekyll Island, Georgia, along withJ.P. Morgan andWilliam Rockefeller among others.
Houghton was a presidential elector in the1904 presidential election.[3] He was also apresidential elector in1916, voting for the Republican candidatesCharles Evans Hughes andCharles W. Fairbanks.[4]
In 1918, Alanson B. Houghton defeated incumbent CongressmanHarry H. Pratt in theRepublican primary. He went on to win the general election and joined theSixty-sixth Congress, representing New York's 37th Congressional District. In 1920, Houghton garnered 68% of the vote to win reelection overDemocrat Charles R. Durham andSocialist Francis Toomey. Houghton took office on March 4, 1919. During his two terms in the House, Houghton served on the Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means committees.
Houghton, having studied in prewar Germany, admired German culture and understood German politics. His appointment was approved by the U.S. Senate and well received by theWeimar Republic. On February 28, 1922, Houghton resigned his House seat to accept appointment fromPresident Warren G. Harding as theU.S. Ambassador to Germany. Houghton believed that world peace, European stability, and American prosperity depended upon a reconstruction of Europe's economy and political system. He saw his role as promoting American political engagement with Europe. He overcame domestic opposition, and disinterest in Washington. He quickly realized that the central issues of the day were all entangled in economics, especially war debts owed by the Allies to the United States, reparations owed by Germany to the Allies, worldwide inflation, and international trade and investment. Solutions, he believed, required new policies by Washington and close cooperation with Britain and Germany. He was a leading promoter of theDawes Plan.[5]
On February 24, 1925,President Calvin Coolidge appointed Houghton as theU.S. Ambassador to Great Britain. Houghton assumed the post on April 6, 1925, and served until April 27, 1929. Houghton's service in both Germany and England gave him a unique ability to address the issue of thewar reparations Germany owed to its World War I opponents, England being one of them. Houghton laid some of the groundwork for theDawes Plan, named after then U.S. Vice PresidentCharles G. Dawes, who would be Houghton's successor as Ambassador to Great Britain.
In1928, Houghton ran for theU.S. Senate from New York against first-term incumbentRoyal S. Copeland, a Democrat. Houghton lost by just over one percentage point.
After his loss in the 1928 Senate race, Houghton returned to managing the Corning Glass Works. He was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of theInstitute for Advanced Study, inPrinceton, New Jersey, serving as chairman until his death in 1941. He also was an original standing committee member of theFoundation for the Study of Cycles and served as vice president of the American Peace Society, which publishesWorld Affairs, the oldest U.S. journal on international relations.
Houghton died at his summer home inSouth Dartmouth, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1941. He was interred at Hope Cemetery Annex inCorning, New York.
DuringWorld War II theLiberty shipSS Alanson B. Houghton was built inPanama City, Florida, and named in his honor.[6]
Houghton's son,Amory Houghton (1899–1981), served as theUnited States Ambassador to France (1957–1961) underPresident Dwight D. Eisenhower. His grandson,Amo Houghton, was aU.S. Congressman fromNew York from 1987 until 2005.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 37th congressional district 1919–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Germany 1922–1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1925–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. senator fromNew York (Class 1) 1928 | Succeeded by |
| Minister Plenipotentiary |  | |
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| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
