William Dawson (ambassador)

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Wiliam Dawson was born at St. Paul, Minnesota, on 11 August 1885, the son of William Dawson and Maria Rice. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1906, he attended the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques in Paris and soon after entered the United States Foreign Service.

His first posting was to St. Petersburg, Russia in 1908. He served as vice and duputy consul-general to Barcelona, Spain and Frankfort, Germany; and consul at Rosario, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Danzig, Poland; and Munich Germany.

Mr. Dawson was consul-general at large from 1922 to 1924 and served as chief instructor at the Department of State's Foreign Service School from 1925-1928. He married Agnes Balloch Bready on 8 June 1926.

He served in Mexico as consul-general; was U.S. envoy and Minister to Ecuador, Colombia and Uraguay; and U.S. ambassador to Panama and Uruguay during his long career.

After retiring in 1946 he served as advisor on Latin American affairs to the U.S. delegation during the formation of the United Nations, went to Brazil on a special mission with General George Marshall and became the first U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States.

Ambassdor Dawson died on 3 July 1972 at the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, Maine. Following a private funeral service he was buried later at Washington, D.C.