Monnett Bain Davis (August 13, 1893 – December 26, 1953) was an American diplomat in the early and mid 20th century.

Early life

Davis was born in

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It is located near Interstate 70 approximately halfway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis in the west-central portion ...

on August 13, 1893. He was named for his maternal grandmother,

Mary Monnett Bain Mary Monnett Bain (Mary Monnett; September 21, 1833, in Marion County, Ohio – July 30, 1885, in Osawatomie, Miami County, Kansas), following her mother's death, came into a very large sum of money. She is known for the construction of Monnett ...

, a benefactress of the

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 ...

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the center of Ohio, about north of Columbus as part of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 41,302 at the 2020 census. Delaware ...

. He was educated at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, A.B. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

(AEF) in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Diplomatic career

Following WWI, Davis entered into the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

and served tours of duty representing American interests abroad as US Consul in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

(1921–23) and

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

(1924) and then as US Consul General in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(1933-1934),

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

(1935–36),

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(1936–37) and

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

(1938-41). During WWII, he served as the Deputy Director of the Office of the Foreign Service and then as Director General of the Foreign Service. Post World War II, Davis served as United States Minister in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

from June 1945 to January 1946. He was then appointed once again as United States Consul-General in Shanghai from 1946 to 1947. In 1948, we was given his assignment as United States Ambassador to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

serving until 1951 before being transferred to the post of U.S. Ambassador to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1951.

Death

Ambassador Davis died in his sleep in the United States Embassy in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

on December 26, 1953. His body was returned to the United States and interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

(Section 2, Grave 4876).Arlington National Cemetery profile for Davis
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References

External links

United States State Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Monnett Bain 1893 births 1953 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Israel Ambassadors of the United States to Panama Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark People from Greencastle, Indiana United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Consuls-general for the United States in Shanghai United States Foreign Service personnel

Early life

Diplomatic career

Death

See also

References

External links