Frank S. Tavenner Jr. (1895–1964) was a Virginia lawyer who was

U.S. attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Virginia, along with other high-profile government legal positions, particularly as chief counsel to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

Background

Frank Stacy Tavenner Jr. was born in

Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...

on July 12, 1895. His father, F. S. Tavenner Sr., was a lawyer, member of the Senate of Virginia, and judge. The elder Tavenner held the same Senate seat later occupied by

Harry Byrd Sr. Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization ...

and Harry Byrd Jr. He earned an A.B. degree at

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

in 1916. He served in World War I as an Army lieutenant. He received an A.M. at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1917 and an LL.B at the

University of Virginia Law School The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1927.

Career

Shortly after graduating, Tavenner began to practice law in his home town. In 1931, he became Assistant U.S. Attorney in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1933, Tavenner was appointed assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Virginia. In 1938, he along with A.C. Buchanan were the choices of Virginia Senators

Carter Glass Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States Secretary of the Treas ...

and

to a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, to which

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

named instead Floyd H. Roberts. In 1940, Tavenner became

for the Western District of Virginia, nominated by Roosevelt. Following World War II, he was assigned by the Department of the Army to be Counsel under Joseph B. Keenan and later Acting Chief of Counsel of the International Prosecution Section for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East from late 1945 to the end of the trial in 1948. He defended former Japanese Prime Minister

Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

. From May 1949 until the mid-1950s, Tavenner served as Chief Counsel for the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he replaced Robert E. Stripling. During this period, HUAC conducted more than 100 hearings that resulted in 35 volumes and 11 reports. Among its documents was a first-ever "Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications."

Death

Tavenner died age 69 on October 21, 1964, of a heart attack and was buried in the Massanutten Cemetery in Woodstock.

Legacy

Dartmouth College law professor Robert K. Carr wrote of Tavenner that in him HUAC had "obtained perhaps the best qualified and most dispassionate assistant it ever had."

References

External links

INVENTORY OF THE PERSONAL PAPERS AND OFFICIAL RECORDS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR EAST, created and collected by Frank S. Tavenner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavenner, Frank S. 1895 births 1964 deaths Virginia lawyers University of Virginia School of Law alumni Princeton University alumni Roanoke College alumni People from Woodstock, Virginia United States Attorneys for the Western District of Virginia 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers American anti-communists