Lithgow OSBORNE (1892-1980)
1 Lithgow OSBORNE1,2,3,4 (1892-1980) [11546]. Born 2 Apr 1892, Auburn, NY.2,3,4 Marr Lillian RABEN-LEVETZAU 12 Mar 1918, Castle Aalholm, the estate of Count Raben-Levetzau.5,6 Marr Sara Tibbits TENNEY 18 Oct 1971, Williamstown, MA.7 Died 10 Mar 1980.8 Buried Fort Hill Cemetery, AUburn, N.Y.9
From the Washington Post (Washington D.C.).
January 30, 1918 - "COUNTESS TO BE HIS BRIDE. Lithgow Osborn, Secretary of U.S. Legation at Copenhagen, to Wed.
Copenhagen, Monday, Jan. 28.--Lithgow Osborn, former attache of the American embassy at Berlin and now second secretary of the legation here, is to marry the Countess Lili Raben-Levetzau, daughter of Count Raben-Levetzau, former Danish minister of foreign affairs."
From the Sheyboygan Press (Sheyboygan, WI).
March 31, 1915 - "Lithgow Osborn, son of Warden Osborne of the Sing Sing, New York prison, and Jackson visited the Doeberitz camp, where English war prisoners are confined, yesterday. They were accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Gerard."
From the Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, NV).
September 20, 1944 - "Lithgow Osborne of New York, now connected with the United Nations relief and rehabilitation administration, was nominated to be ambassador to the Norwegian government-in-exile in London."
From the Oelwein Dailey Register (Oelwein, IA).
September 26, 1944 - ". . .Lithgow Osborne of New York was selected as ambassador to the government of Norway now established in London."
From the Congressional Biography of Lithgow Osborne.
"Osborne, Lithgow (1892-1980) of Auburn, Cayuga County, N.Y. Son of Thomas Mott Osborne. Born in Auburn, Cayuga County, N.Y., April 2, 1892. Democrat. Candidate for New York state senate 42nd District, 1924; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1928; candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 36th District, 1932; delegate to New York state constitutional convention, 1938; U.S. Ambassador to Norway, 1944-46."
From The Osborne Family Inventory, Syracuse University Libraries.
"History
Lithgow Osborne (b. Apr. 2, 1892) was the third son of Thomas Mott Osborne. When he was in the middle of his senior year at Harvard, Joseph C. Grew snapped him up for an assignment in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. That was 1914 . . . As private secretary to Ambassador James W. Gerard, and later as third secretary of the embassy, Lithgow Osborne was plunged into the diplomatic and social life of wartime Germany.
Shortly before President Wilson broke relations with Germany, Osborne was transferred to the American Legation in Havana. Because of his familiarity with European affairs he was soon returned to the Continent as Secretary of the American Legation in Copenhagen. There he met Countess Lillie Raben-Levetzau, whom he married. They had three sons: Richard, Lithgow Devens, and Frederick Raben-Levetzau.
After the Paris Peace Conference Osborne returned to Washington, D.C. He worked within the State Department for a few years but resigned . . . In 1922 he became the vice-president and editorial writer of the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser. A decade later he was back in government when Governor Herbert H. Lehman appointed him Commissioner of Conservation. After another ten years he departed Albany for Washington and a desk in the office of Strategic Services (OSS). Late in the war, when Lehman was shaping the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), Osborne joined his staff. A little later, President Roosevelt made Osborne Ambassador to Norway, a post he held until May, 1946.
For several years after his return from Oslo Lithgow Osborne was chairman of the board of trustees for the American Scandinavian Foundation.
In 1954 he helped draft the original Declaration of Atlantic Unity, which was both a statement of purpose and an agency designed to bolster the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A second Declaration of Atlantic Unity (1962) was sponsored by 270 American and European statesmen, some of whose correspondence is present in the collection."
From the Syracuse Herald-Journal (Syracuse, NY).
June 21, 1956 - "Osborne is Honored By Danish King.
AUBURN - In recognition of his work in promoting cultural relations between the United States and Denmark, Lithgow Osborne, of Auburn, vice-president of Auburn Publishing Co., publisher of the Citizen Advertiser, has been made commander first class of the order of Danneborg by King Frederik IX of Denmark.
Osborne recently retired as president of the American-Scandinavian foundation after eight years.
Received information of this honor yesterday from Henrik DeKauffman, the Danish Ambassador to Washington. He also received the cross and plague of Brilliants and Danish enamel work, which are teh insignia of the order.
The Order of Danneborg was founded in 1219 by a Danish king after a successful battle against heathen tribes. A vision of a cross appeared in th sky. The cross is still the basis of the Danish flag.
Osborne was U.S. ambassador to Norway in 1945 and 1946 and in his diplomatic days was U.S. charge D'affairs in Copenhagen.
He was a member of the American Peace Commission ot Paris in 1919; assistant secretary general of the arms limitation conference at Washington, D.C., 1921-1922.
In 1944, Osborne was deputy director general of Europena regional office at London for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. From April 1947 to February 1956 he was president and chairman of the board of the American-Scandinavian foundatoin. He is secretary of the Atlantic Union Committee."
From the New York Times.
March 11, 1980 - OSBORNE - Lithgow, Monday, March 10, 1980 of 1 Fitch Ave., Auburn, N.Y. Survived by his wife, Sara Tenney Osborne of Auburn, 3 sons, Richard of Carmel, Calif., L. Devens of Pittsford, N.Y. and Frederik R.L., Auburn, 16 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren. Memorial services to be held at a later date. Omit flowers. Contributions to the Seymour Library Association, 176 Genesee St., Auburn, N.Y."
From the Political Graveyard.
"Osborne, Lithgow (1892-1908) - of Auburn, Cayuga County, N.Y. Born in Auburn, Cayuga County, N.Y., April 2, 1892. Son of Thomas Mott Osborne; married 1918 to Countess Lillie Raben-Levetzau (of Denmark). Democrat. Private secretary to U.S. Ambassador James W. Gerard, 1915; newspaper editor; candidate for New York state assembly from Cayuga County, 1923; candidate for New York state senate 42nd District, 1924; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1928; candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 36th District, 1932; New York State Conservation Commissioner, 1933; delegate to New York state constitutional convention, 1938; U.S. Ambassador to Norway, 1944-46. Member Audubon Society. Died in 1980. Interment at Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, N.Y.".
2 Thomas Mott OSBORNE10 ( - ) [11574].
Sources
| 1 | "An article in the Marion Star (Marion, OH), March 12, 1921". |
| 2 | "WWI Selective Service registration card". |
| 3 | "Passport application of Lithgow Osborne". |
| 4 | "1940 NY, Albany, Albany census". |
| 5 | "Engagement announcement of Countess Lili Raben-Levetzau and Lithgow Osborne in the Nevada State Journal, January 30, 1918". |
| 6 | "Passport application of Mrs. Lillie Osborne". |
| 7 | "Wedding announcement of Sara T. Tenney and Lighgow Osborne in the Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA), October 22, 1971". |
| 8 | "Obituary of Lithgow Osborne in the New York Times, March 11, 1980". |
| 9 | "From The Political Graveyard". |
| 10 | "Engagement announcement of Mary Morse and Richard Osborne in the New York TImes, April 2, 1943". |
