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Born July 5, 1902
Nahant, Massachusetts
Died February 27, 1985
Beverly, Massachusetts

American diplomat and U.S. ambassador
to South Vietnam in the mid-1960s

Henry Cabot Lodge served as America's ambassador to South Vietnam from mid-1963 to mid-1964, and again from mid-1965 through 1967. During his first stay in Saigon, Lodge helped convince the U.S. government to support the coup that removed President Ngo Dinh Diem (see entry) from power. After resuming his ambassadorial duties in 1965, Lodge's low opinion of the South Vietnamese government remained unchanged. But his strong anti-Communist beliefs made him a firm supporter of continued U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

Member of a prominent political family

Henry Cabot Lodge was born on July 5, 1902, in Nahant, Massachusetts. He was raised...