Dean Acheson

Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life
Acheson was born in Middletown, Connecticut. He studied at Yale College and at Harvard Law School. He married Alice Stanley in 1917.

Secretary of State
Acheson served as the 51st United States Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman. He served as Secretary of State from January 1949 to January 1953. He helped defend America's foreign policy during the break of the Cold War.

Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam.

Kennedy Administration

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.

Personal life
Acheson and his wife Alice had three children; David, Jane, and Mary. He remained married to Alice until his death in 1971. He retired shortly after 1955.

Awards
Acheson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1970.

Death
Acheson died in Sandy Spring, Maryland from a massive stroke. He was 78 years old. He was survived by his two surviving children, David and Mary. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C..

References

Other websites

 Work on Acheson's Role in Designing the Foreign Policy Stance of the Democratic Party after the 1952 election.
 Annotated bibliography for Dean Acheson from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues 

Category:1893 births
Category:1971 deaths
Category:Deaths from stroke
Category:Lawyers from Connecticut
Category:United States Secretaries of State
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Politicians from Connecticut
Category:20th-century American politicians
Category:American diplomats
Category:American people of World War II
Category:American political writers
Category:Deaths from cerebral infarction
Category:Episcopalians
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Category:People from Maryland
Category:People of the Korean War
Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Category:Pulitzer Prize winners
Category:Writers from Connecticut
Category:Yale University alumni