Pierre de Lagarde Boal (September 29, 1895,

Thonon-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

– May 24, 1966,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, France) was an American

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

. Boal served as the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1941 to 1942 and the United States Ambassador to Bolivia from May 1942 to February 5, 1944.

Biography

He was born Pierre Denis de Lagarde Boal on September 29, 1895, at Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France, to Theodore Davis Boal and his wife, Mathilde Marie Dolorès Denis de Lagarde. In 1925 his father was a lieutenant colonel in the 28th Infantry Division, a unit in the Army National Guard and the oldest division-sized unit in the United States armed forces. Boal's French wife, Jeanne de Menthon, was a descendant of

Bernard of Menthon Saint Bernard of Menthon or Bernard of AostaSt Bernard of Aosta
sai ...

, an 11th-century

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. Their children included

Mimi Lee Mathilde B. "Mimi" Lee (May 1, 1920 – August 9, 2011) was an American chemist, athlete and philanthropist who served as the First Lady of Maryland from 1977 to 1979 when her husband, then Lt. Governor Blair Lee III, became acting govern ...

, who served as the First Lady of Maryland from 1977 to 1979. Boal joined the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1919. Before his appointment as ambassador, he served tours as diplomatic secretary of counselor of embassy in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, and

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Boal was also the one time Chief of the Western European Division. He died at 3 p.m. of a "cerebral vascular accident" on May 24, 1966, at the American hospital on 63 Victor Hugo Boulevard, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. After his death, his body was released to his wife Jeanne and transported from the Paris Orly Airport to Kennedy International Airport on its way to Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, for interment.

References

1895 births 1966 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Nicaragua Ambassadors of the United States to Bolivia French military personnel of World War I American expatriates in France {{US-diplomat-stub