Ellis O. Briggs

Ellis Ormsbee Briggs (December 1, 1899 – February 21, 1976) was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to seven countries over the course of his career.^[1]

Ellis O. Briggs
US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
In office April 17, 1943 – April 22, 1944
Preceded by	Avra M. Warren
Succeeded by	Joseph F. McGurk
US Ambassador to Uruguay
In office August 21, 1947 – August 6, 1949
Preceded by	Joseph F. McGurk
Succeeded by	Christian M. Ravndal
US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
In office October 8, 1952 – October 30, 1953
Preceded by	Joseph E. Jacobs
Succeeded by	George Wadsworth
US Ambassador to South Korea
In office August 25, 1952 – April 12, 1955
Preceded by	John J. Muccio
Succeeded by	William S. B. Lacy
US Ambassador to Peru
In office March 24, 1952 – June 5, 1956
Preceded by	Harold H. Tittmann Jr.
Succeeded by	Theodore C. Achilles
US Ambassador to Brazil
In office July 24, 1956 – April 29, 1959
Preceded by	James Clement Dunn
Succeeded by	John M. Cabot
US Ambassador to Greece
In office April 8, 1959 – February 1, 1962
Preceded by	James Williams Riddleberger
Succeeded by	Henry Richardson Labouisse, Jr.

Briggs (left) in 1955

Early life and family

Briggs was born in Massachusetts to James Briggs and Lucy Hill Briggs, and was educated at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1921. He married Lucy Barnard in 1928. They had two children; Lucy in 1930, and Everett (who also went on to a career as an American diplomat^[2]) in 1934.^[3]

Diplomatic career

Position (All with the U.S. State Department)	Date appointed	Period of service	Comments	Reference
Vice Consul to the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru		1926–1928		[3]
Third Secretary to the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru		1928–1933		[3]
Third Secretary to the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba		1933–1937		[2][3]
Assistant Chief, Division of American Republics		1937–1940		[3]
Special Mission to the East Coast of South America		1940		[3]
Consul-First Secretary, U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile		1940–1941		[3]
First Secretary to the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba		1941–1944		[3]
Chief, Division of Caribbean and Central American Affairs		1944		[3]
United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic	March 21, 1944	June 3, 1944 – January 14, 1945		[4]
Economic Counselor, Chungking		1945		[3]
Director, Office of American Republic Affairs		1945–1947		[3]
United States Ambassador to Uruguay	July 3, 1947	August 21, 1947–August 6, 1949		[4]
United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia	September 1, 1949	November 8, 1949–August 27, 1952		[4]
United States Ambassador to South Korea	August 25, 1952	November 25, 1952–April 12, 1955	Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned on July 28, 1953, after confirmation.	[4]
United States Ambassador to Peru	March 24, 1955	March 27, 1955 – June 5, 1956		[4]
United States Ambassador to Brazil	May 29, 1956	July 24, 1956–May 2, 1959		[4]
United States Ambassador to Greece	April 8, 1959	July 15, 1959–February 1, 1962		[4]
Career Ambassador	June 24, 1960	N/A		[4]
United States Ambassador to Spain	N/A	N/A	Not commissioned; nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it.	[4]

Retirement and publications

President John F. Kennedy nominated Briggs for the post of U.S. Ambassador to Spain. However, due to illness, Briggs was not able to accept the post, and retired from the State Department in 1962.^[5]

Briggs was the author of several memoirs and other works, including:

• Shots Heard Round the World: An Ambassador's Hunting Adventures on Four Continents, a memoir written in 1957, while still with the State Department
• Farewell to Foggy Bottom: The Recollections of a Career Diplomat, another memoir, this one written in 1964, after his retirement
• Anatomy of Diplomacy: The Origin and Execution of American Foreign Policy, a 1968 book on international affairs
• Proud Servant: Memoirs of a Career Ambassador, another memoir, this one published posthumously in 1998

He died in 1976 in Gainesville, Georgia.