Donal McLaughlin (July 26, 1907 – September 27, 2009) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who played a major role in the design of the

flag of the United Nations The flag of the United Nations is a sky blue banner containing the United Nations' emblem in the centre. The emblem on the flag is coloured white; it is a depiction of the world map in the azimuthal equidistant projection (centred on the North ...

Early life and education

McLaughlin was born on July 26, 1907, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and was raised in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His choice to pursue architecture mirrored that of his grandfather, James W. McLaughlin, who designed the

Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ...

. McLaughlin attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where his thesis addressed the issues of circular design. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1933 from the Yale School of Architecture.Bierut, Michael
"The lapel pin that changed the world"
, ''Yale Arts & Culture'', May / June 2007. Accessed January 4, 2008. He earned an architecture diploma from the

Beaux-Arts Institute of Design The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (BAID, later the National Institute for Architectural Education) was an art and architectural school at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, in New York City. After his graduation, despite the difficult economic climate of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, he was able to get a position with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. That led to positions in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with the

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

firm of Raymond Loewy and Walter Dorwin Teague, where he worked on the

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

and U.S. Steel pavilions at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

in New York. He also designed the interior of the Tiffany & Co. flagship store at

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

and 57th Street in

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, McLaughlin worked for the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

, where he worked for its leader, "Wild Bill" Donovan as chief of graphics. During the war, his group used visual design to help present information that could be easily understood—including army orientation films, a documentary on the capabilities of amphibious DUKW vehicles, and cigarette packages printed with instructions for derailing German trains. His team created the design for the courtroom used in the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

as well as the visual displays that were used by the prosecution that helped obtain convictions of Nazi war criminals.

United Nations insignia

150px, Emblem of the United Nations The organizers of the 1945

United Nations Conference on International Organization The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allies of World War II, Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 194 ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, wanted an insignia that could be made into a pin to identify delegates that could also be used as a logo for the international event. U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr., was chairman of the U.S. delegation and realized that a temporary design might become the permanent symbol of the United Nations. He formed a committee, headed by

Oliver Lundquist Oliver Lincoln Lundquist (September 20, 1916 – December 28, 2008) was an American architect and industrial designer who headed the team which was responsible for the design of the United Nations logo and who himself designed the Q-Tip box. B ...

, to develop a design with a world map surrounded by leaves from a design that had been created by McLaughlin. With his fellow designers, McLaughlin came up with about nine different designs. The one that they chose had to fit on a circular pin that was 1 1/16 in. in diameter, and McLaughlin referred to his thesis by shifting the projection off center so that all of the countries would fit. The continents were surrounded by olive branches to represent peace with the name, location, and date of the conference on the outer edge.Bertram, Hulen
"Origin of the UNO Seal"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 10, 1946. Accessed January 4, 2009. McLaughlin celebrated his 100th birthday on July 26, 2007. His father also reached the century mark, and the elder McLaughlin remarked that he had given up smoking cigarettes and drinking in his early thirties and credited his longevity to having "never exerted myself with too much work or ambition."Goodman, George Jr
"Man Reaches 100 and Credits Sloth"
''

'', December 19, 1975. Accessed January 4, 2009.

Death

McLaughlin died on September 27, 2009, at the age of 102 in his home in Garrett Park, Maryland due to

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

. He was survived by two daughters, a son, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He married the former Laura Nevius in 1937, who died in 1998.Grimes, William
"Donal McLaughlin, Designer of United Nations Emblem, Dies at 102"
''

'', October 2, 2009. Accessed October 2, 2009.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Donal 1907 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American architects Flag designers American men centenarians Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States Architects from Cincinnati Architects from Manhattan People from Garrett Park, Maryland People from the Bronx People of the Office of Strategic Services Yale School of Architecture alumni Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (New York City) alumni