Warren Delano Robbins, U.S. diplomat

WARREN DELANO ROBBINS

• Born Brooklyn, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1885.
• Parents Charles Albert Robbins, Katharine Robbins Delano.
• School Groton School, Groton, Mass.
• Degrees A.B., 1908.
• Married Irene de Bruyn, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 3, 1910.
• Children Warren Delano, Jr., May 26, 1911; Edward Hutchinson, Nov. 29, 1912; Irene, Sept. 27, 1914.
• Occupation Diplomat.
• Address Department of State, Washington, D.C.

After graduating I immediately went abroad to travel, with the rather vague idea of some day going into the diplomatic service. I had incidentally mentioned the fact in the Harvard dean's office on graduating. Through this channel I secured, in January, 1909, the appointment of private secretary to Col. Charles Page Bryan, American minister to Lisbon. I acted as his secretary and clerk of the legation until June of the same year, when my chief was transferred to the legation at Brussels. As I had always been interested in South America, I then accepted the position of private secretary to the newly appointed minister to Buenos Aires, Mr. Charles Sherrill. We arrived at Buenos Aires together in June, 1909. During my stay there, I studied hard at international law, in preparation for the diplomatic "exams," which I was to take in Washington in December, 1909. My able tutor was Charles Lyon Chandler, Harvard, 1906, who was the vice-consul at Buenos Aires. September 3, 1910, I married Irene de Bruyn and immediately after our marriage we returned to the United States. I took my "exams" in December and was appointed third secretary of the embassy at Paris, where we remained three years and where my two sons were born. In March, 1914, I was appointed second secretary of the embassy at Mexico. I did not go, however, owing to the severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries. I was soon sent as secretary of legation to Guatemala. I remained there two years and during that time was in charge of the legation for four months. My daughter was born at this post. I was appointed assistant chief of division of Latin American Affairs at Washington, January, 1916. During the year and a half that I had this position, I was delegated to represent the Department of State with the French Mission, headed by Marechal Joffre and M. Viviani. I acted also in a similar capacity with the Italian and Belgian Missions. I received the decoration of Chevalier de l'Ordre de Leopold from the Belgian government for the service rendered to the mission. In September, 1917, I was sent as first secretary to the embassy at Buenos Aires. I acted as charge d' affaires there for fourth months. I then went to Santiago, Chile, in a similar capacity, acting as charge there for four months. On December last I was promoted to the grade of counselor of embassy. I am now awaiting assignment to a new post. My only comment is that I find the diplomatic service (while not a lucrative one) to be not only interesting, but often inspiring. I hope I may be able to continue in the service.

Member: Harvard Club, Knickerbocker Club, Racquet and Tennis Club, Tuxedo Club, all of New York; Metropolitan Club and Chevy Chase Club, Washington, D.C.; Cercle de 1'Union, Travellers' Club, Polo Club de Bagatelle, of Paris, France.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20817654/warren-delano-robbins

Bibliographic information:

• Title Harvard College Class of 1908 Secretary's Third Report
• Author Harvard College (1780- ). Class of 1908
• Published 1920
• Original from Harvard University
• Digitized Jun 4, 2008
• Length 624 pages
• Page 391
• https://books.google.com/books?id=lMknAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA391&lpg=PA391&d...

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From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20817654

Diplomat. A first cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robbins graduated from Harvard in 1908. In 1909, he began a career in the US Foreign Service when he was appointed secretary to the Ambassador to Portugal. He later carried out assignments in Argentina, France, Guatemala, Chile, Germany, and Italy, as well as at the US State Department in Washington, DC. In 1929 Robbins became Ambassador to El Salvador. In 1930 he became White House Ceremonial Officer, responsible for greeting and escorting foreign dignitaries. In 1931 Robbins was appointed Chief of Protocol at the State Department. In 1933 President Roosevelt named him Ambassador to Canada, a position he held until shortly before his death from pneumonia. In 1937 Robbins' widow Irene de Bruyn, a Belgian who grew up in Argentina, was appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of State's Foreign Service Buildings Office, responsible for furnishing and decorating US embassies, consulates and other facilities. (bio by: Bill McKern)

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Warren D Robbins United States Census, 1930

Name: Warren D Robbins Titles and Terms: Event Type: Census Event Year: 1930 Event Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, United States District: 0178 Gender: Male Age: 44 Marital Status: Married Race: White Race (Original): White Relationship to Head of Household: Head Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head Birth Year (Estimated): 1886 Birthplace: New York Immigration Year: Father's Birthplace: New York Mother's Birthplace: New York Sheet Number and Letter: 10A Household ID: 177 Line Number: 42 Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Affiliate Publication Number: T626 Affiliate Film Number: 296 GS Film number: 2340031 Digital Folder Number: 004531900 Image Number: 01068

• Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
• Warren D Robbins Head M 44 New York
• Irene D Robbins Wife F 42 Argentina
• Warren D Robbins Jr. Son M 18 Paris
• Edward H Robbins Son M 17 Paris
• Irene H Robbins Daughter F 15 Guatemala
• Elizabeth Cooke Parlor maid F 24 Virginia
• Joseph F Cooke Chauffeur M 31 North Carolina
• Marea Schneider Lady's maid F 40 Germany
• Eric Schneider Butler M 39 Germany
• Marie Ogradnig Cook F 40 Austria

Citing this Record:

"United States Census, 1930," Database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMKY-871 : accessed 1 July 2015), Warren D Robbins, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0178, sheet 10A, family 177, line 42, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 296; FHL microfilm 2,340,031.

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Warren Delano Robbins From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warren Delano Robbins (September 3, 1885 – April 7, 1935) was an American diplomat and first cousin of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Biography

Early life

Warren Delano Robbins was born on September 3, 1885, in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Harvard University in 1908.

Career

In 1909, he became a secretary on the staff of the United States Ambassador to Portugal. In subsequent years, he would work in a lower-level diplomatic function in Argentina (1909), France (1911), and Guatemala (1914). In 1916, he was briefly assigned to the Department of State's Division of Latin American Affairs before returning to Argentina in 1917 and then on to Chile in 1919. In 1921, he was promoted as Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, before serving in Germany (1922) and Italy (1925).

In 1929, he was elevated to Minister and given his first post as Chief of Mission, in Salvador. (The country would change its name to El Salvador while he was at that post.) In 1930, he was made a White House ceremonial officer and in 1931 was reassigned to the State Department as Chief of Protocol of the United States. In this role, he was responsible for greeting foreign dignitaries and other ceremonial duties.

In 1933, he was assigned as Chief of Mission to Canada, a position he held until shortly before his death of pneumonia, aged 49.

Death

He died on April 7, 1935.

References

   "Warren D. Robbins Dies of Pneumonia; Our Minister to Canada and Cousin of the President Had Been Ill a Week" (FEE). The New York Times. 1935-04-08. p. 19.

Bibliographic details for "Warren Delano Robbins"

• Page name: Warren Delano Robbins
• Author: Wikipedia contributors
• Publisher: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
• Date of last revision: 6 June 2015 21:12 UTC
• Date retrieved: 1 July 2015 14:33 UTC
• Permanent link: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Warren_Delano_Robbins&ol...
• Primary contributors: Revision history statistics
• Page Version ID: 665806887

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https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/robbins-warren-d...

https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNO3WVTokk0C&pg=PA3172&lpg=PA3172...

Warren's birth, biographical, photograph and death information are available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Delano_Robbins