John P. Humes

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.

Following his service in the war, he attended Fordham University School of Law, graduating in 1948.

Career During World War II, Humes served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps Intelligence Service in the European Theater. He presented his credentials in Vienna on October 29, 1969. Humes' mission was terminated when he left his post on March 6, 1975, and was succeeded by Wiley T. Buchanan Jr.

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.

After retiring in 1975, Humes was active as a member of the board of directors of the Council of American Ambassadors and the board of visitors of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. the daughter of banker Carl Jacob Schmidlapp and Frances (née Cooper) Schmidlapp. 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.

Humes died of a stroke at the Community Hospital in Glen Cove on Long Island on September 30, 1985.

Legacy The John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden, a Japanese garden in Mill Neck, is named in his honor.