John Jeffry Louis Jr. (June 10, 1925 – February 15, 1995) was an American businessman and diplomat. He served as the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, formally the ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's is the official representative of the president of the United States and the Federal government of the United ...

Early life

John J. Louis Jr., was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

advertiser John Jeffry Louis and

Johnson Wax S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (commonly referred to as S. C. Johnson) is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation, privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, ...

heiress Henrietta Johnson Louis. He grew up in the Chicago area. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, he served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(1943–1945), where he was a second lieutenant and pilot. After the war, he received a bachelor of arts degree from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

and a master in business administration from the

Tuck School of Business The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. It was founded in 1900 as the first institution in th ...

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 ...

in 1949.

Career

Entering business in 1951, John J. Louis Jr. started in his father's advertising firm, Needham, Louis, and Brorby. In 1953, he married Josephine Louis (née Peters), with whom he had three children. He then joined S.C. Johnson and Son in 1958. S.C. Johnson was the successor company of his great-grandfather's company, Johnson Wax. At S.C. Johnson, John J. Louis Jr. was director of international marketing until 1961. From 1961 to 1968, he was chairman of KTAR Broadcasting in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, until it merged with a local billboard company to form Combined Communications Corporation. He then served as chair of the merged company. In 1979, Combined Communications merged with

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

, and Louis joined Gannett. His first diplomatic work was in the ceremonial role of Special Ambassador in 1972 at an independence celebration in Gabon, during the presidency of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. More substantially, he was nominated to the post of

by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

on March 27, 1981.Ronald Reagan White House. March 27, 1981
"Nomination of John J. Louis Jr. To Be United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom."
Public Papers of the Presidents. Accessed 2008-11-01. He served in that post until his resignation on September 19, 1983. In his resignation, Louis expressed optimism about the quality of relations with the United Kingdom and the government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

, yet stated his desire to return to corporate and philanthropic pursuits.Ronald Reagan White House. September 19, 1983
"Letter Accepting the Resignation of John J. Louis Jr., as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom"
Public Papers of the Presidents. Accessed November 1, 2008.

Philanthropy

Louis served as a trustee of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in Evanston, Illinois, where he had a building, John J. Louis Hall named for his father, John J. Louis, who had also been a trustee of the university. The building, which houses Northwestern's professional production and post-production facilities for the Department of Radio/Television/Film as well as public radio WNUR 89.3 FM and a classroom/lab for the Medill School of Journalism still exists on Northwestern's South end of campus today near Norris University Center.

Death and legacy

On February 15, 1995, Louis died in his home in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

, at age 69. His son John Jeffry Louis, III has continued the family tradition, serving on the boards of directors of S.C. Johnson and

, as well as the

board of trustees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, John J. 1925 births 1995 deaths People from Evanston, Illinois Williams College alumni Dartmouth College alumni Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom Family of Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr. Phillips family (New England) United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Military personnel from Illinois 20th-century American diplomats