Howland Hill Sargeant (July 13, 1911 – February 29, 1984) was

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV ser ...

from 1952–53, and the president of

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

from 1954 to 1975.

Biography

Born in 1911 in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

, Howland H. Sargeant was educated at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, graduating in 1932. He played for the

Dartmouth Big Green baseball The Dartmouth Big Green baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire. It has been a member of the NCAA Division I Ivy League baseball conference since its founding at the st ...

team. In 1932, he was a

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

. Sargeant later joined the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. In 1947, he became Deputy

.Howland H. Sargeant Papers at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
/ref> In this capacity, Sargeant was a member of the United States delegation to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and in 1950 was Vice-President of the UNESCO General Conference that met in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. During his time as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Sargeant met actress

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style. Born in Helena, Monta ...

, who was a member of the U.S. delegation to UNESCO. Sargeant married Loy on June 2, 1951, becoming Loy's fourth husband.NNDB Profile of Myrna Loy
/ref> This marriage would end in a divorce on May 31, 1960, and the couple did not have any children. In 1952,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

nominated Sargeant to be

and Sargeant subsequently held this office from February 21, 1952, until January 29, 1953. The

American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia The American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (ACLPR, AMCOMLIB), also known as the American Committee for Liberation from Bolshevism, was an American anti-communism, anti-communist organization founded in 1950 which worked for ...

founded

in 1954, and Sargeant became Radio Liberty's first president. He held this position until 1975. Radio Liberty merged with

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

in 1976. Sargeant died on February 29, 1984, of an apparent heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargeant, Howland United States assistant secretaries of state Dartmouth Big Green baseball players American Rhodes Scholars 1911 births 1984 deaths