Donald Read Heath (August 12, 1894 – October 15, 1981) was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Minister to Laos (1950–1954), and Ambassador to Cambodia (1950–1954), Vietnam (1952–1955), Lebanon (1955–1957) and Saudi Arabia (1958–1961). During his tenure as Ambassador to Vietnam, Heath advocated and carried out American policy under Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that helped set the stage for American military involvement.[1]
Heath was born in Topeka, Kansas the son of Hubert A. and Estelle (Read) Heath. He was educated in Topeka public schools and graduated from Washburn University about 1915. He attended the University of Montpellier in France for one semester. While a student at Washburn, Heath was a member of the Kansas Beta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity where among his chapter brothers was Arthur S. Champeny. On October 10, 1920, he married Sue Louise Bell.
In 1950, Washburn awarded Heath its Distinguished Service Award.[2] In 1958, the Washburn again honored him with an honorary doctorate of laws.[3]
- ^ "Donald R. Heath, 87; Served as a U.S. Envoy". The New York Times. 1981-10-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ^ See the Washburn Alumni Association list of recipients at http://www.washburn.edu/alumni/Awards/DSAAwards.htm Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ See the History of Phi Delta Theta at Washburn at http://phidelt.wikispaces.com/kansas%20beta Archived 2016-06-27 at the Wayback Machine