{{short description|American politician (1907–1966)}} {{For|his grandfather, the lawyer and New York State Assemblyman|Walter Howe (New York)}}
{{infobox officeholder | name = | office = [[United States Ambassador to Chile]] | president = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] | term_start = 1958 | term_end = 1961 | predecessor = [[Cecil B. Lyon]] | successor = [[Robert F. Woodward]] | office1 = [[Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives]] | term_start1 = 1939 | term_end1 = 1940 | predecessor1 = [[J. Mortimer Bell]] | successor1 = [[Hugh Meade Alcorn Jr.]] | office2 = Member of the [[Connecticut House of Representatives]] | term_start2 = 1934 | term_end2 = 1942 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1907|06|10}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C. | death_date = {{death date and age|1966|04|08|1907|06|10}} | death_place = [[University of Virginia|University of Virginia Hospital]], [[Barboursville, Virginia]] | alma_mater = [[Yale University]]<br>[[Harvard University]] | party = [[Republican party (United States)|Republican]] | parents = | spouse = {{marriage|Mary Jane Wild|November 1936}} | children = 4 | relations = [[Walter Howe (New York)|Walter Howe]] (grandfather) | allegiance = United States | rank = [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] | branch = [[U.S. Navy]] | battles = World War II<br>[[Korean War]] }} '''Walter Howe''' (June 10, 1907 – April 8, 1966) was an American diplomat who served as [[United States Ambassador to Chile]] from 1958 to 1961.<ref name="WHState">{{cite web |title=Walter Howe – People – Department History |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/howe-walter |website=history.state.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of State|Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute United States Department of State]] |access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref>
==Early life== Howe was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Anne ([[née]] Wilson) Howe (1880–1963) and [[Ernest Howe]] (1875–1932), a former state assemblyman and senator from Litchfield. At the time of his death, he was editor of the ''[[American Journal of Science]]'',<ref name="1932Obit">{{cite news |title=ERNEST HOWE, GEOLOGIST; Scientist, Politician and Banker Dies at Litchfield, Conn. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/12/19/archives/ernest-howe-geologist-scientist-politician-and-banker-dies-at.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 December 1932}}</ref> and president of the [[First National Bank of Litchfield]] (the oldest nationally chartered bank in the state of Connecticut).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/Union-completes-merger-with-Litchfield-bank-442515.php|title=Union completes merger with Litchfield bank|date=2010-04-10|work=StamfordAdvocate|access-date=2018-09-27}}</ref> His mother was the first [[Republican party (United States)|Republican]] state central committeewoman from the [[Connecticut's 30th Senate district|30th Senatorial District]] after passage of the [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Women's Suffrage Amendment]]. His sister, Margaret Bruce Howe, was the founder of the ''Prospect Press'' in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] and was the wife of Herbert L. Crapo, editor of the ''Litchfield Enquirer''.<ref name="1945Weddomg">{{cite news |title=Margaret Howe Becomes a Bride; Editor of Litchfield Enquirer Married at Mother's Home to Herbert L. Crapo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/25/archives/margaret-howe-becomes-a-bride-editor-of-litchfield-enquirer-married.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 March 1945}}</ref>
His maternal grandparents were Annie (née Hutton) Wilson and Nathaniel Wilson, a prominent Washington attorney. His paternal grandparents were Mary Anne Bruce (née Robins) and [[Walter Howe (New York)|Walter Howe]], an attorney and member of the [[New York State Legislature]].<ref name="1890Burial">{{cite news |title=Walter Howe Buried. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/08/25/archives/walter-howe-buried.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 August 1890}}</ref><ref name="TRTribute1890">{{cite news |title=Theodore Roosevelt's Tribute to Walter Howe. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/09/06/archives/theodore-roosevelts-tribute-to-walter-howe.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=6 September 1890}}</ref> His paternal uncle was Walter Bruce Howe, the husband of noted composer and pianist [[Mary Howe]].<ref name="1966Obit"/>
A graduate of [[St. George's School (Rhode Island)|St. George's School]] in [[Middletown, Rhode Island]], he attended [[Yale University]], where he graduated in 1929, and later did graduate work in history at [[Harvard University]].<ref name="1936Plan">{{cite news |title=BRIDAL IS PLANNED BY MARY JANE WILD; Denver Girl to Be Married on Nov. 14 to Walter Howe in Dedham, Mass. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/10/25/archives/bridal-is-planned-by-mary-jane-wild-denver-girl-to-be-married-on.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 October 1936}}</ref>
==Career== Howe was a Republican member of the [[Connecticut General Assembly]] from 1934 to 1942 representing Litchfield. He also served as [[Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives|Speaker]] of the [[Connecticut House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] from 1939 to 1940 and director of the United States Foreign Operations Mission to Columbia. He served in the Navy during World War II and the [[Korean War]], retiring with the rank of [[Commander (United States)|Commander]].<ref name="1966Obit"/>
In 1954, Howe was assigned to be chief of the United States Technical assistance program in Columbia, serving in that role until 1956.<ref name="StateNewsletter1966">{{cite journal |title=Walter Howe |journal=Department of State Newsletter |date=March 1966 |issue=59 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVckaoiZa2AC |access-date=8 February 2021 }}</ref> While serving as a consultant of the [[International Cooperation Administration]] (the predecessor of the present-day [[U.S. Agency for International Development]]), President Eisenhower appointed Howe Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Chile on April 22, 1958.<ref name="1958Appointment">{{cite news |title=ENVOY TO CHILE NAMED; Howe, Foreign Aid Official, to Succeed C. B. Lyon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/04/01/archives/envoy-to-chile-named-howe-foreign-aid-official-to-succeed-c-b-lyon.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 April 1958}}</ref><ref name="1958Senate">{{cite news |title=SENATE BACKS ENVOYS; Approves Howe for Chile, Willauer for Costa Rica |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/04/23/archives/senate-backs-envoys-approves-howe-for-chile-willauer-for-costa-rica.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 April 1958}}</ref> He presented his credentials on June 1, 1958, and served until his mission was terminated and he left his post on March 15, 1961, after the [[John F. Kennedy]] became president. Howe was a strong critic of [[Fidel Castro]] and his regime.<ref name="1960Excerpts">{{cite news |title=Excerpts From the U.S. Letter on Cuba |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/09/archives/excerpts-from-the-us-letter-on-cuba.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 April 1960}}</ref> On behalf of President Eisenhower, he wrote a letter "defending our policies and sharply attacking Fidel Castro and other Cuban leaders for 'betrayal' of the ideals they proclaimed when they took power on Jan. 1, 1959."<ref name="1966Obit">{{cite news |title=WALTER HOWE, 58, DIPLOMAT, IS DEAD; Eisenhower Envoy to Chile Scored Castro Regime |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/10/archives/walter-howe-58-diplomat-is-dead-eisenhower-envoy-to-chile-scored.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 1966}}</ref><ref name="Onisspecial1960">{{cite news |last1=Onisspecial |first1=Juan de |title=U.S. LETTER SPURS DEBATE IN CHILE; Eisenhower's Condemnation of Castro Stirs Students -- Manifesto Is Cited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/10/archives/us-letter-spurs-debate-in-chile-eisenhowers-condemnation-of-castro.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 1960}}</ref> The letter provoked an angry rebuttal by Cuban [[President of Cuba|President]] [[Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado|Torrado]] and, nine months later, diplomatic tie were severed.<ref name="1966Obit"/>
After leaving his post in Chile, he was an adviser on South American affairs.<ref name="1966Obit"/>
==Personal life== In November 1936, Howe was married to [[Smith College]] graduate Mary Jane Wild (1913–2006), a daughter of Mary (née Chamey) Wild and Alfred Wild, who was an investor in Colorado mines for many years.<ref name="1936Wedding">{{cite news |title=MARY WILD WED TO A LEGISLATOR; Denver Girl Becomes Bride of Walter Howe of Litchfield, Conn, -- Reception Given |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/15/archives/mary-wild-wed-to-a-legislator-denver-girl-becomes-bride-of-waiter.html |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 November 1936}}</ref> Together, they were the parents of four sons, Jonathan Howe, Peter Massie Howe, Walter Robin Howe, and Timothy Brigham Howe.<ref>{{cite news |title=HOWE. JANE WILD HOWE (Age 93) |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=jane-wild-howe&pid=19932558 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=8 February 2021 |date=November 16, 2006}}</ref>
He died at the University of Virginia Hospital in [[Barboursville, Virginia]], aged 58, after suffering a heart attack.<ref>Commonwealth of Virginia: Certificate of Death for Walter Howe. ''Virginia, Death Records, 1912–2014.'' (Occupation: "Former ambassador to Chile.")</ref> After a funeral service at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Litchfield, he was buried at East Cemetery there.<ref name="1966Obit"/>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{find a Grave|212605942}}
{{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassador to Chile]]|before=[[Cecil B. Lyon]]|after=[[Robert F. Woodward]]|years=1961–1958}} {{s-end}}
{{Ambassadors of the United States to Chile}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Walter}} [[Category:1907 births]] [[Category:1966 deaths]] [[Category:Yale University alumni]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:Connecticut lawyers]] [[Category:Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives]] [[Category:United States attorneys for the District of Connecticut]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Chile]] [[Category:St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly]]