John Portner Humes (July 21, 1921 – September 30, 1985) was an American lawyer, diplomat and author who served as the United States Ambassador to Austria.[1]
After receiving his law degree, Mr. Humes became an associate with Shearman & Sterling, a New York law firm. From 1956 to 1969 he was a partner in the New York law firm Andrews & Botzow, which became Humes, Andrews & Botzow.[1]
While in Vienna, he wrote his memoirs (in two volumes), which were later compiled into a book, “Quadruple Two : Excerpts from the Vienna Diaries of Ambassador John Portner Humes which was used as a text for students at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.[6]
In 1950, Humes married Dr. Jean Cooper Schmidlapp,[7] the daughter of banker Carl Jacob Schmidlapp[8] and Frances (née Cooper) Schmidlapp.[9][10] Jean, a cousin of Broadway producer W. Horace Schmidlapp, attended the Foxcroft School and later graduated from Vassar College in 1945, and Cornell University Medical College, where she received her MD, in 1949. Together, they were the parents of six sons: Andrew, Christopher, Cooper, Carl, David, and John Portner Humes Jr.[1] They lived together at Rumpus House, their 28-acre (11 ha) estate in Mill Neck, New York.[9][11]
Humes died of a stroke at the Community Hospital in Glen Cove on Long Island on September 30, 1985.[1]