Marjorie Millace Whiteman (1898— July 6, 1986) was an American legal scholar and author known for her fifteen-volume ''Digest of International Law'', also referred to as the "Whiteman Digest". She served in 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 ...

for over forty years and was inducted into the

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives an ...

in 1979.

Early life and education

Marjorie Millace Whiteman was born in

Liberty Township, Henry County, Ohio Liberty Township is one of the thirteen townships of Henry County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 2,442. Geography Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships: * York Township, F ...

, in 1898. She graduated from

Wauseon High School Wauseon High School is a public high school in Wauseon, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Wauseon Exempted Village School District. Keith Leatherman is the principal, and Ryan O'Dell is the assistant. Academics Wauseon High School received ...

and later

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

in 1920. Whiteman earned an L.L.B. (1927) and

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(1928) from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, where she served as an editor of the ''

Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...

''. She studied at National University and was a

Carnegie Fellow Carnegie may refer to: People *Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name **Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie * ...

in international law, which became her specialty.

Career

Whiteman taught high school history from 1920 to 1926. In December of 1929, she joined the United States Department of State as Assistant Solicitor, beginning a career that lasted four decades and during which she advised ten secretaries of state on international law. For part of this period, she served as special assistant to

Green Hackworth Green Haywood Hackworth (Prestonsburg, Kentucky, January 23, 1883 – Washington, DC, June 24, 1973) was an American jurist who served as the first U.S. judge on the International Court of Justice, as President of the International Court of Justic ...

, then the department's legal adviser. She helped to draft the charter of the United Nations in 1945 and the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

three years later. From 1945 to 1951 she acted as an advisor to former First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, who was then serving as the United States representative to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. She also participated in many Pan-American Conferences, notably the one in 1948 at which the charter for the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

was drafted. When the State Department was reorganized in 1949, Whiteman was named the first assistant legal adviser for American republic affairs. In 1958, she was awarded for outstanding Government service by the National Civil Service League. Whiteman was a key contributor to Green Hackworth's eight-volume ''Digest of International Law'' (1937–1943) and capped her career by later publishing her own 15-volume ''Digest of International Law'', completed in 1969. Her digest included sections on new and emerging areas of international law, including outer space and aviation, disarmament, Antarctica and the Continental Shelf, and international organizations. Known as the "Whiteman Digest", it continues to be a leading reference work in the field for government officials and scholars of international law. Whiteman served as vice-president of the

American Society of International Law American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

. She was inducted into the

in 1979.

References

External links

Papers of Marjorie M. Whiteman, 1936-1982Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteman, Marjorie Millace 1898 births 1986 deaths American legal scholars Diplomats for the United States International law scholars Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Yale Law School alumni Women diplomats for the United States American women legal scholars 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers