Richard Ivan Queen (August 7, 1951 – August 14, 2002) was born in Washington D.C. and worked for the U.S. State Department as Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. On November 4, 1979, he was among the 66 hostages taken by Islamic militants calling themselves the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, an event commonly known as the Iran hostage crisis.

Time as a hostage and release

Richard Queen began to physically deteriorate fairly early during his confinement. While the hostage takers were aware of his ailment, the doctor they provided repeatedly misdiagnosed his ailment as a "Twisted Spine". As his illness progressed and it became increasingly difficult for Queen to stand or walk, he was finally taken to a local hospital where he was examined by the neurologist Dr Mehryar for a more thorough evaluation. After Mehryar's consultation the hostage takers determined that Queen's illness required they release him. Queen was later diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. He was held hostage for 250 days and released on July 11, 1980. Thirteen hostages had been released on November 20, 1979 (after 16 days). The remaining 52 hostages were released on January 20, 1981 (after 444 days). Richard Queen died on August 14, 2002, in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Wash ...

, due to complications from

. He was a graduate of Edgemont High School, class of 1969 and Hamilton College, class of 1973.

External links

"Ex-Hostage Richard Queen Says He's Feeling Better, Thank You – but Hold the Lobster"
People, August 18, 1980
"Appreciation: Richard I. Queen, 1951-2002"
Foreign Service Journal, October 2002, an obituary of Queen in five parts, by Ambassador Bruce Laingen (fellow hostage), Richard Morefield (foreign service officer and fellow hostage),

John Limbert John W. Limbert (born 1943) is an American diplomat. He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran in the US State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He is a veteran U.S. diplomat and a former official at the U.S. Emb ...

(Ambassador to Mauritania and fellow hostage), Ambassador

Ruth A. Davis Ruth A. Davis (born May 28, 1943) is an American diplomat. Davis served as the 24th director general of the United States Foreign Service. She is the first woman of color to be appointed as Director General of the Foreign Service and the first Afr ...

(Director General of the Foreign Service) and

Colin L. Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

(U.S. Secretary of State).
"A Hostage Comes Home"
Time, July 28, 1980. *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Richard 1951 births 1970s missing person cases 2002 deaths American expatriates in Iran American diplomats American people taken hostage Deaths from multiple sclerosis Edgemont Junior – Senior High School alumni Formerly missing people Hamilton College (New York) alumni Iran hostage crisis Missing person cases in Iran Neurological disease deaths in Virginia

Time as a hostage and release

See also

External links