John Moore Allison | |
|---|---|
 Allison circa 1952 | |
| United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia | |
| In office April 24, 1958 – May 4, 1960 | |
| Preceded by | U. Alexis Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Christian M. Ravndal |
| United States Ambassador to Indonesia | |
| In office March 13, 1957 – January 29, 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh S. Cumming Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Howard P. Jones |
| United States Ambassador to Japan | |
| In office May 28, 1953 – February 2, 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Daniel Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Douglas MacArthur II |
| 3rdAssistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs | |
| In office February 1, 1952 – April 7, 1953 | |
| President | Harry Truman Dwight Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Dean Rusk |
| Succeeded by | Walter S. Robertson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 7, 1905 Holton, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 1978 (aged 73) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Education | University of Nebraska (BS) |
John Moore Allison (April 7, 1905 – October 28, 1978) was an American diplomat who served as theUnited States Ambassador to Japan from 1953 to 1957. From 1957 to 1958, he wasAmbassador to Indonesia and from 1958 to 1960 toCzechoslovakia. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a professor at theUniversity of Hawaii.
Allison was born inHolton, Kansas and raised inLincoln, Nebraska. He graduated fromLincoln High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from theUniversity of Nebraska in 1927.[1][2][3]
Declining a scholarship to pursue graduate work at Nebraska, and refusing to go to work for his father, Allison accepted a post as an English teacher Japan in 1927.[4] He worked for two years as an English teacher, first in a middle school inOdawara, and later at the Imperial Japanese Naval Engineer Officers Academy atAtsugi.[4] In 1929 Allison moved to Shanghai, where he worked as a branch advertising manager forGeneral Motors.[4]
In 1931, Allison took and passed the U.S. Foreign Service exam, and was inducted into theForeign Service in 1932.[4] He quickly rose through the ranks, serving as consul in Dalian (1935–36), Jinan (1936–37), Nanjing (1937–38), Shanghai (1938), and Osaka (1939–41). Allison was in Osaka during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.[3]
On January 26, 1938, during the period of theNanking Massacre, Allison, at the time consul at the American embassy inNanjing, was struck in the face by a Japanese soldier.[5][6] This incident is commonly known as the "Allison Incident." Japanese Consul-GeneralKatsuo Okazaki apologized formally on January 30 (after the Americans demanded they do so).[7] This incident, together with the looting of American property in Nanking that took place at the same time, further strained relations between Japan and the United States, which had already been damaged by theUSSPanay incident less than two months earlier.[8]
Allison served as a consul inLondon duringWorld War II. After Japan's surrender, he served in various State Department leadership positions covering Japan and the Far East from 1946 to 1952. Allison participated in the drafting of theTreaty of San Francisco that formally ended the war, serving asJohn Foster Dulles's aide during the latter's negotiation of the treaty.[9]
Allison was namedUnited States Ambassador to Japan in 1953. As Ambassador, Allison took a hard line in pressuring Japan to remilitarize. In Allison's view, Japan had no choice but to bow to U.S. demands, arguing "they need us at least as much if not more than we need them."[10] In March 1954, 16 years after the "Allison Incident," Allison and the man who had apologized to him in Nanjing, JapaneseForeign Minister Okazaki, signed theU.S. and Japan Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement on behalf of their respective countries.[11] The agreement secured U.S. military and economic aid to Japan in exchange for a vague promise from the Japanese government to remilitarize.[11]
In 1956, Allison accepted a new post as Ambassador to Indonesia.[12] In 1957, he recommended that the U.S. government support Indonesian claims regardingWestern New Guinea.[13][14][15]
In 1958, Allison was transferred to Czechoslovakia, a posting he found unexciting.[15] After his mentor John Foster Dulles died in 1959, Allison decided to retire from the Foreign Service, rather than work under a new boss.[15] In addition, his wife was battling illness and needed better access to medical care.[15]
In 1960, Allison retired and secured a teaching job at theUniversity of Hawaii. He also wrote a weekly foreign affairs column for theHonolulu Star–Bulletin.[3] Allison served as president of Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, a nonprofit promoting international relations and Hawaii's role on the Asian–Pacific stage.[3][16] In 1973, Allison published his memoir, Ambassador from the Prairie; or, Allison in Wonderland.[17]Allison died on October 28, 1978, inHonolulu,Hawaii.[15]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs February 1, 1952 – April 7, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Japan May 28, 1953 – February 2, 1957 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Indonesia March 13, 1957 – January 29, 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia April 24, 1958 – May 4, 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Resident Minister | |
|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
 | ||
| Czechoslovakia (1919–1992) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic (1993–present) | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
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