Bethuel M. Webster (June 13, 1900 – March 31, 1989) was a prominent lawyer in New York City, a president of the New York City Bar Association, and an adviser to Mayor John Lindsay.
Contents |
Webster was born in Denver, Colorado on June 13, 1900. He attended the University of Colorado and Harvard Law School.
After graduating from Harvard, Webster served as assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1926 to 1927, and as special assistant to the United States Attorney General in the antitrust division of the Department of Justice from 1927 to 1929.
From 1929 to 1930, Webster was general counsel for the Federal Radio Commission, predecessor to the Federal Communications Commission, where he played an important role in upholding the licensing power of the federal government for radio airwaves, decisions later upheld for television airwaves as well.
In 1934, Webster founded the now defunct law firm of Webster, Sheffield, Fleischman, Hitchcock & Chrystie with Frederick Sheffield. With Webster & Sheffield, Webster represented a number of high-profile clients including Goldman Sachs, Consolidated Edison, the Ford Foundation, the New York City Public Library, and Carnegie Hall.
After World War II, Webster served as special assistant to the High Commissioner of Germany, specializing in the decartelization of the German steel and coal industries and the enforcement of anti-trust regulations.
From 1959 to 1965, he served as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and from 1965 to 1968 he mediated the international territorial dispute between Great Britain and Guatemala over British Honduras.
Webster was a member of Mayor Robert F. Wagner’s Committee for the Preservation of Structures of Historic and Esthetic Importance, and presided over Mayor John Lindsay’s transitional team in 1965.
Under Lindsay, who was also a partner at Webster & Sheffield, Webster served as head of the New York City Cultural Council and was a key adviser in the administration. In a New York Times obituary of Webster, Lindsay recalled:
“He was always my guiding light, beginning with the law. Both as a Congressman and as Mayor, I turned to him in tough ones, on relations with people and arts programs. He was a constant adviser on arts programs, of particular concern because of the creation of Lincoln Center.” [1]
Webster also served as a member of the city’s Drug Abuse Council, as a member of the city’s Art Commission, and as a trustee of the Ford Foundation. He was president of the Harvard Law School Association, and the Public Education Association, and, from 1952 to 1954, president of the New York City Bar Association.