John Allyne Gade

John Allyne Gade
Born	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 16, 1955(1955-08-16) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)	Architect, naval officer, diplomat, investment banker, author
Years active	1907–1940

John Allyne Gade (10 February 1875 – 16 August 1955) was a multifaceted American professional known for his work as an architect, naval officer, diplomat, investment banker, and author.

Background

Gade was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Gerhard Gade, who served as the American consul for Eastern Norway, and Helen Allyne, his American-born mother. His upbringing took place at his father's estate, Frogner Manor, located near Christiania (present-day Oslo), Norway. He was proficient in English, Norwegian, French, and German, having received education across Norway, Paris, and Braunschweig. Although he initially aimed to enter West Point Military Academy, he ultimately pursued architectural studies at Harvard University.

Career

Following his graduation, Gade began his career with the esteemed New York architectural firm McKim, Mead and White before establishing his own practice in 1907. That same year, he married Ruth Sibley from Rochester, New York.

Prior to the United States' involvement in World War I, Gade contributed to Herbert Hoover’s U.S. Commission for Relief in Belgium. Upon returning stateside in 1917, he enlisted as a Naval Reserve officer and attained the rank of Navy lieutenant. Utilizing his language skills, he was assigned to Naval Intelligence roles including Assistant Naval Attaché in Oslo and later Naval Attaché in Copenhagen, eventually reaching lieutenant commander status.

After the Armistice, Gade was engaged in diplomatic assignments across the Baltic countries and Finland and was named U.S. Commissioner to the Baltics in 1919. He resigned from this post in 1920 and entered the investment banking sector with White, Weld & Co., frequently traveling throughout Europe where he purchased the Chateau de Brécourt in Normandy. While working at White & Weld in 1929, he advocated for the creation of an American Central Intelligence Agency inspired by British intelligence services.

In 1933, Gade took up the position of naval attaché with U.S. diplomatic missions based in Brussels and The Hague; his subsequent assignments included Lisbon and a return to Brussels until 1940 when he retired following the closure of the U.S. embassy after Belgium’s surrender.

Throughout his lifetime, Gade maintained close connections with Norway and provided financial support to several institutions there. His patronage of Roald Amundsen’s 1911 Antarctic expedition led to a mountain near the South Pole being named Mount Ruth Gade in honor of his wife. He held honorary membership in the Oslo Military Society and funded restoration projects for both the Archbishop's Palace in Trondheim and Oslo Cathedral.

Bibliography

Gade authored numerous works focusing on architecture, history, and biography. Notable publications include:

• Cathedrals of Spain, Boston and New York 1911.
• Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden, Boston 1916 (co-authored with Carl Gustafson Klingspor).
• Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway, Boston 1928.
• The Life of Cardinal Mercier, New York 1934.
• All My Born Days, New York 1942 (autobiographical).
• The Life and Times of Tycho Brahe, Princeton 1947.
• The Hanseatic Control of Norwegian Commerce During the Late Middle Ages, Leiden 1951.

Related Reading

• Smith, W. Thomas (2003) Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency (Infobase Publishing)