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Laurence SteinhardtAmerican diplomat, US Ambassador to Moscow.
Date of Birth: 06.10.1892
Country:  Canada |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Lawrence Steinhardt was born on October 6, 1892, in New York City to an affluent Jewish family. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1913, Master of Science in Mathematics, and Bachelor of Laws in 1915 from Columbia University.
Military and Early Career
With the outbreak of World War I, Steinhardt enlisted as a private in the army. He rose to the rank of associate counsel to the Secretary of War. After the war, he worked at the law firm Guggenheimer, Untermyer, and Marshall, where his maternal uncle Samuel Untermyer was a partner. Untermyer was a prominent figure in the Democratic Party in New York and supported Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Davies, and other notables. Steinhardt soon became heavily involved in supporting Roosevelt's presidential campaign, serving on the Convention Arrangements Committee and the Democratic Finance Committee in 1932.
Diplomatic Career
Steinhardt's support for Roosevelt led to his appointment as Ambassador to Sweden in 1932. He later served as U.S. Ambassador to Peru. On March 23, 1939, he was appointed Ambassador to the USSR, presenting his credentials on August 11, 1939.
World War II
With the German invasion of the Soviet Union, foreign embassies evacuated to Kuibyshev. Steinhardt evacuated in late 1941, leaving Second Secretary Llewellyn Thompson and staff in Moscow. On November 12, 1941, Steinhardt was appointed Ambassador to Turkey, a role he held until the end of the war.
Post-War Career
President Truman sent Steinhardt as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and then to Canada, where he tragically died in a plane crash.
