Frank Stacy Tavenner Jr. (July 12, 1895 – October 21, 1964) was an American lawyer who was

United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

, along with other high-profile government legal positions, particularly as chief counsel to the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

(HUAC).

Background

Frank Stacy Tavenner Jr. was born in

Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town in and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2010 United States Census, 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles o ...

on July 12, 1895. His father, F. S. Tavenner Sr., was a lawyer, member of the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

, and judge. The elder Tavenner held the same Senate seat later occupied by Harry Byrd Sr. and Harry Byrd Jr. He earned an A.B. degree at

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

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 university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1917 and an LL.B at the

University of Virginia Law School The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

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 Party (United States), Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of United Stat ...

and Harry Byrd Sr. to a vacancy on the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

, to which

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

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

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, 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 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to Criminal procedure, try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their cri ...

from late 1945 to the end of the trial in 1948. From May 1949 until the mid-1950s, Tavenner served as Chief Counsel for the

, 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 of a heart attack, aged 69, on October 21, 1964, in Woodstock, Virginia, 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 Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee United States Army personnel of World War I