Francis Taylor Pearsons Plimpton (December 7, 1900 – July 30, 1983) was an American diplomat,

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 ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, partner at the law firm

Debevoise & Plimpton Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is an international white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City, with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Luxembourg. The firm specializes in intellectual ...

and a president of the

New York City Bar Association The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, commonly referred to as the New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization has been headquartere ...

Early life

Plimpton was born on East 33rd Street in

on December 7, 1900, the son of George Arthur Plimpton, of

Walpole, Massachusetts Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located approximately south of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was ...

, and his first wife, Frances Taylor (Pearsons). He was descended from a prominent

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

family. His ancestor John Plympton arrived in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, in 1630. Plimpton was educated at

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he was a roommate of

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

. On a recommendation from

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint. Born in Vienna, Frankfurter im ...

, Plimpton began writing editorials on legal issues for the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

'' for

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter, and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of the Cold War, coining t ...

while still at Harvard.

Early career

After graduating from Harvard, Plimpton was hired by

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41st United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodor ...

's law firm, Root, Clark, Buckner, Howland & Ballantine, and from 1929 to 1931 he took charge of the firm's

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

office. In 1926, he married Pauline, the daughter of the botanist

Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...

; they had four children, one of whom was

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was known for " participat ...

, a writer and founder of the

Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

. From 1931 to 1933, Plimpton worked for the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government that served as a lender of last resort to US banks and businesses. Established in ...

. In 1933, he joined the firm Debevoise & Stevenson, which became Debevoise, Stevenson & Plimpton and later

. Plimpton became an expert in the legal problems of

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

and the

reorganization A corporate action is an event initiated by a public company that brings or could bring an actual change to the debt securities— equity or debt—issued by the company. Corporate actions are typically agreed upon by a company's board of dire ...

of public utilities. Plimpton also became an expert on the legal requirements of the

Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Act of 1933, also known as the 1933 Act, the Securities Act, the Truth in Securities Act, the Federal Securities Act, and the '33 Act, was enacted by the United States Congress on May 27, 1933, during the Great Depression and afte ...

and built a large clientele, especially in the

insurance industry Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

, as a result of the new law.

Later career

In 1961, Plimpton was appointed by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

to the United States delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

at the behest of Ambassador

. While at the U.N., Plimpton was assigned to the Special Political Committee and was also involved with the Budgetary and Legal Committee. He served as Adlai Stevenson's second-in-command until Stevenson's death in 1966. From 1968 to 1970, Plimpton also served as president of the

, where he became involved in the political debates of the late 1960s, particularly over the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In May 1970, he controversially led a group of young lawyers from New York to

Washington, D.C. 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. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to lobby against the war on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

. As Sheldon Oliensis, another president of the Bar, later recalled, Plimpton believed that there was "no issue on which the Bar could not be heard."Morris, Jeffrey B. (1997). ''"Making Sure We are True to Our Founders": The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1980–1995''. New York: Fordham University Press. p. 21.

New York society

In addition to his career as an attorney and diplomat, Plimpton was also active in New York society. He was a member of the board of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

, the

Foreign Policy Association The Foreign Policy Association (FPA, formerly known as the League of Free Nations Association) is an American non-profit foreign policy organization. According to the FPA, the organization aims to spread global awareness and understanding of US f ...

, the American-Italy Society,

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fa ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, where he was instrumental in securing the acquisition of the

Temple of Dendur The Temple of Dendur (Dendoor in the 19th century) is a Roman Egyptian religious structure originally located in Tuzis (later Dendur), Nubia about south of modern Aswan. Around 23 BCE, Emperor Augustus commissioned the Egyptian temple, temple d ...

. Plimpton's son,

, was a writer and a founder of ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''.

Death

Plimpton died of complications resulting from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, at Huntington Hospital on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, on July 30, 1983. He was 82 years old.

References

Sources

Goodale, James C. "Francis T.P. Plimpton: A Colleague’s Reflection." ''The New York Law Journal'' August 4, 1983.

* Morris, Jeffrey B. (1997). ''"Making Sure We are True to Our Founders": The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1980–1995''. New York: Fordham University Press. .

External links

Website of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP

The Papers of Francis T.P. Plimpton, Harvard University Library

Plimpton Family Papers, Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plimpton, Francis 1900 births 1983 deaths New York (state) lawyers Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Amherst College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Presidents of the New York City Bar Association 20th-century American lawyers People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton