Carlisle Humelsine | |
|---|---|
| Assistant Secretary of State for Administration | |
| In office August 11, 1950 – February 13, 1953 | |
| President | Harry Truman |
| Preceded by | John Peurifoy |
| Succeeded by | Edward T. Wailes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carlisle Hubbard Humelsine 1915 Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 1989 (aged 73) Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse | Mary |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Maryland |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Carlisle Hubbard Humelsine (1915 – January 25, 1989)[1] was an American diplomat and military officer who served as theAssistant Secretary of State for Administration from 1950 to 1953.
Born inHagerstown, Maryland, Humelsine graduated from theUniversity of Maryland in 1937.[2] DuringWorld War II, he reached the rank of fullcolonel at 29, earning theDistinguished Service Medal and theBronze Star.
After the war, he spent six years at theState Department, serving foursecretaries of state includingDean Acheson andJohn Foster Dulles.
While at the State Department, Humelsine was instrumental in orchestrating the persecution of suspected homosexual employees known as theLavender scare. In June 1950, he wrote a three-page memo to Under SecretaryJames E. Webb titled "Problem of Homosexuals and Sex Perverts in the Department of State" which described how the State Department, under the direction of then Assistant Secretary for AdministrationJohn Peurifoy, began investigating and firing suspected homosexuals in 1947. Humelsine laid out the agency's homophobic rationales for considering homosexuals to be undesirable as employees.[3]
James Webb delivered Humelsine's paper to SenatorClyde R. Hoey during a meeting discussing the Senate subcommittee's investigation into the employment of homosexuals in the Federal workforce.[4] Humelsine then served as the State Department's spokesperson throughout the Senate investigation,[5] which culminated in the subcommittee's report declaring homosexuals to be unsuitable for government employment.[6]
In 1958, he began a 27-year tenure as president, then chairman, ofColonial Williamsburg. Under his leadership,Williamsburg became one of America’s most popular historical attractions. Humelsine was chairman of theNational Trust for Historic Preservation, and a trustee for theNational Geographic Society,National Gallery of Art andSmithsonian Institution.
Humelsine and his wife, Mary, had two daughters. He died inWilliamsburg, Virginia, on January 25, 1989, at the age of 73.
In 2004,Virginia Route 199, inWilliamsburg, Virginia, was renamed the "Humelsine Parkway" in honor of Humelsine.[7]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for Administration August 11, 1950 – February 15, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman,National Trust for Historic Preservation | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Inc. 1958-1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman,Colonial Williamsburg Foundation yyyy-1983 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
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