Walter Nathan Tobriner: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American diplomat}}

[[Image:KirkDouglasKey.jpg|thumb|Commissioner Walter Tobriner presents a Key to the City of Washington, D.C., to [[Kirk Douglas]], ~October 1960]]

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Walter N. Tobriner

|honorific-suffix =

|image = Walter N. Tobriner (DC 1).png

|ambassador_from = United States

|country = Jamaica

|term_start = December 11, 1967

|term_end = March 21, 1969

|predecessor = [[Wilson T.M. Beale, Jr.]]

|successor = [[Vincent de Roulet]]

|president = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]<br>[[Richard Nixon]]

|office1 = [[List of mayors of Washington, D.C.|President of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.]]

|president1 = [[John F. Kennedy]]<br>Lyndon B. Johnson

|term_start1 = March 3, 1961

|term_end1 = November 7, 1967

|predecessor1 = [[Robert Enoch McLaughlin|Robert E. McLaughlin]]

|successor1 = [[Walter Washington]] (as Mayor-Commissioner)

|office2 = [[List of mayors of Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia Commissioner]]

|president2 = [[John F. Kennedy]]<br>Lyndon B. Johnson

|term_start2 = March 3, 1961

|term_end2 = November 7, 1967

|predecessor2 = Mark Sullivan, Jr.

|successor2 = Position abolished

|birth_date={{birth date|1902|07|02}}

|birth_place=[[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1979|07|14|1902|07|02}}

|death_place=Washington, D.C., U.S.

|resting_place= National Memorial Park, West Falls Church, VA

|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]

|alma_mater = [[Princeton University]], [[Harvard Law School]]

|profession=Law professor, Diplomat

|spouse = Marienne Smith

<!--Military service-->

| allegiance = <!-- United States -->

| branch = [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force]]

| serviceyears = 1942-46

| rank = {{Dodseal|USAO5|25}}&nbsp;[[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]]

| unit =

| commands =

| battles =

* [[World War II]]

| mawards =

}}

'''Walter Nathan Tobriner''' (July 2, 1902 – July 14, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 22nd and final [[List of mayors of Washington, D.C.|president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia]] and a U.S. ambassador.

'''Walter Nathan Tobriner''' was born [[July 2]], [[1902]] in [[Washington D.C.]] After attending the [[Sidwell Friends School]], he went on to study at [[Princeton University]], graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923, and later received his law degree from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1926. In 1927 Tobriner was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in the Washington, D.C. area. From 1927 to 1950, he was also a professor of law at the National University School for Law. On July 20, 1933, he was married to Marienne Smith. His only lapse in teaching was from 1943-1946, when he served as a Lt. Colonel in the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force]].

Tobriner served as the president of the board of the Garfield Memorial Hospital from 1952 to 1955. In 1954, he also was president of the board of the Lisner Home for Women. Tobriner acquired the position as director of the [[Blue Cross]] Plan in 1953 and maintained this position until 1961. He also headed the board of the Washington Hospital Center from 1959 to 1961.

==Early life==

Tobriner's hard work earned him a spot on the Washington Board of Education from 1952-1961. He served as president of the board from 1957 to 1961, during which time was responsible for carrying out the Supreme Court decision of 1954 which required the desegregation of public schools. He also served as a delegate to the [[Democratic National Convention]] in the years 1956, 1960, and 1964. Then in 1961 [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] appointed him to the Board of Commissioners for Washington D.C. where he served from 1961 to 1967. In fact, he served as the last president of the Board of Commissioners in 1967 when the government of Washington, D.C. underwent reorganization. During this same time, as Chairman of the National Housing Authority, Tobriner brought about fair housing and employment ordinances, aimed at ending racial discrimination. He was a trustee of the National Cultural Center from 1964-1967. From 1966 to 1967 he was also the chairman of the [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]], when the first contracts for the new subway system contracts were awarded. In the period from 1967 to 1969, Tobriner was appointed as the United States Ambassador to Jamaica. In addition, the U.S. Department of State needed his help as a consultant in 1969. Tobriner had also been a member of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City from 1974 up until his death in 1979.

Born in [[Washington, D.C.]], to a family with deep roots in the district. His father was a DC lawyer. Tobriner attended the [[Sidwell Friends School]], but left for Princeton before graduating. At [[Princeton University]], he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923, and received his law degree from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1926.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Severo |first1=Richard |title=Walter Tobriner: Only in Washington |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 November 1966}}</ref>

In 1927, Tobriner was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in the Washington, D.C., area. From 1927 to 1950, he was a professor of law at the [[National University School of Law]].<ref name=obit>{{cite news|last=Hailey|first=Jean R.|title=W.N. Tobriner, D.C. Commissioner, Rights Advocate, Dies|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 15, 1979|id={{ProQuest|147049351}}}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

{{start box}}

{{succession box | before = [[Robert E. McLaughlin]] | title = [[List of mayors of Washington, D.C.|President of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.]] | years = [[1961]]&ndash;[[1967]] | after = [[Walter Washington]] }}

{{end box}}

On July 20, 1933, he married Marienne Smith.

[[Category:1902 births|Tobriner, Walter Nathan]]

[[Category:1979 deaths|Tobriner, Walter Nathan]]

[[Category:People from Washington, D.C.|Tobriner, Walter Nathan]]

[[Category:Mayors of Washington, D.C.|Tobriner, Walter Nathan]]

[[Category:District of Columbia politicians|Tobriner, Walter Nathan]]

During World War II, from 1943 to 1946, he served as a lieutenant colonel and legal officer in the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force]].<ref name="obit"/> After the war he returned to DC and continued practicing law.

Tobriner served as the president of the board of the Garfield Memorial Hospital, from 1952 to 1955. In 1954, he was president of the board of the Lisner Home for Women. Tobriner acquired the position as director of the [[Blue Cross Blue Shield Association|Blue Cross]] Plan in 1953 and maintained this position until 1961. He headed the board of the [[Washington Hospital Center]] from 1959 to 1961.<ref name="obit"/>

{{US-politician-stub}}

==Public life==

Tobriner was appointed to the [[District of Columbia Public Schools|Washington Board of Education]] in 1952 and served from 1952 to 1961, the last four years as president. He was an early supporter of Civil Rights and following the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court's]] 1954 [[Brown v. Board of Education]] decision he advocated for speedy compliance with the decision and created a school integration system that became the model for the country.<ref name="Nomination">{{cite news |last1=Caberry |first1=James R. |title=Commission Post Goes To Tobriner |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=31 January 1961}}</ref>

He served as a delegate to the [[Democratic National Convention]] in the years 1956, 1960, and 1964.

In 1961 [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] appointed him to the Board of Commissioners for Washington, D.C., where he served as president from 1961 to 1967, after being re-appointed by President Johnson. He found the three-member board awkward and inefficient and supported President Johnson's re-organization of the district government under a single mayor-commissioner and 9-member council. When the new government took effect, it made him the last president of the board of commissioners. As commissioner he ended the practice of arresting suspects without probable cause. He supported the re-organization of the police department and brought about fair housing and fair employment ordinances that sought to end racial discrimination. He supported a civil rights unit in the legal office and the creation of 2-year and 4-year public colleges in the district.<ref name="obit"/>

During his time on the board, he was, from 1964-67, a trustee of the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|National Cultural Center]] when plans for the Kennedy Center were drafted; and was, from 1966 to 1967, the chairman of the [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]], when the first contracts for the new subway system contracts were awarded.<ref name="obit"/>

From 1967 to 1969, Tobriner was the United States ambassador to [[Jamaica]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/tobriner-walter-nathan?|title=Walter Nathan Tobriner - People - Department History - Office of the Historian|publisher=|accessdate=26 January 2017}}</ref> When his service was over, the [[U.S. Department of State]] hired him as a consultant.<ref name="obit"/>

==Death and legacy==

Tobriner died on July 19, 1979, and was buried at National Memorial Park in West Falls Church, Virginia.

His papers are held at [[George Washington University]].<ref>[http://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2014.xml Guide to the Walter Tobriner Papers, 1949-1968], Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University</ref>

The [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/tc.html "T.C." Collection]: Early works of Theodore Dreiser collected by Walter N. Tobriner and presented to Roger S. Cohen is available in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the [[Library of Congress]], (115 titles).

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

*{{cite web|title=Collections: Objects of the Month|url=http://jhsgw.org/collections/objectofthemonth/2012-aug.php|work=August 2012|publisher=Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington|accessdate=11 February 2013}}

*{{cite news|last=Severo|first=Richard|title=Walter Tobriner: Only in Washington|newspaper=Washington Post|date=27 Nov 1966|id={{ProQuest|142671904}}}}

*[http://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2014.xml Guide to the Walter Tobriner Papers, 1949-1968, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University]

{{S-start}}

{{s-dip}}

{{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassador to Jamaica]]|before=[[Wilson T.M. Beale, Jr.]]|after=[[Vincent de Roulet]]|years=1967–1969}}

{{S-off}}

{{Succession box |before = [[Robert Enoch McLaughlin|Robert E. McLaughlin]] |title = [[List of mayors of Washington, D.C.|President of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.]] |years = 1961–1967 |after = [[Walter Washington]]<br>(as Mayor-Commissioner)}}

{{S-end}}

{{Leaders of the District of Columbia}}

{{US Ambassadors to Jamaica}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobriner, Walter Nathan}}

[[Category:1902 births]]

[[Category:1979 deaths]]

[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]

[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]

[[Category:Diplomats from Washington, D.C.]]

[[Category:20th-century American diplomats]]

[[Category:20th-century mayors of Washington, D.C.]]

[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Jamaica]]

[[Category:Members of the Board of Commissioners for the District of Columbia]]

[[Category:United States Army Air Forces officers]]

[[Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II]]

[[Category:Washington, D.C., Democrats]]

[[Category:Sidwell Friends School alumni]]