John Davis Lodge

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John Davis Lodge
United States Ambassador to Switzerland
In office May 19, 1983 – April 30, 1985
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Faith Ryan Whittlesey
Succeeded by	Faith Ryan Whittlesey
United States Ambassador to Argentina
In office July 23, 1969 – November 10, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Carter Lane Burgess
Succeeded by	Robert Charles Hill
United States Ambassador to Spain
In office March 24, 1955 – April 13, 1961
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	James Clement Dunn
Succeeded by	Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle
79th Governor of Connecticut
In office January 3, 1951 – January 5, 1955
Lieutenant	Edward N. Allen
Preceded by	Chester Bowles
Succeeded by	Abraham Ribicoff
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th district
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1951
Preceded by	Clare Boothe Luce
Succeeded by	Albert P. Morano
Personal details
Born	(1903-10-20)October 20, 1903 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	October 29, 1985(1985-10-29) (aged 82) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Francesca Braggiotti ​ ​ (m. 1929)​
Children	2, including Lily
Relatives	Lodge family
Alma mater	Harvard University Harvard Law School
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1946 (Active) 1946–1966 (Reserve)
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Legion of Honor; Croix de Guerre

John Davis Lodge (October 20, 1903 – October 29, 1985) was an American film actor, lawyer, politician, and diplomat.^[1][2] He was the 79th governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955, and later served as U.S. ambassador to Spain, Argentina, and Switzerland.^[3] As an actor, he often was credited simply as John Lodge. He had roles in four Hollywood films between 1933 and 1935, including playing Marlene Dietrich's lover in The Scarlet Empress and Shirley Temple's father in The Little Colonel. He starred or co-starred in many British and European films between 1935 and 1940.

Lodge was a member of four prominent political families in the Northeast United States: the Cabot, Lodge, Frelinghuysen and Davis families. He was a direct descendant of at least seven U.S. senators, and had many other politicians in his family, including his brother, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who ran for Vice President of the United States in 1960 alongside presidential nominee Richard Nixon but was defeated by John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.