Paul Pennoyer Sr.

Pennoyer was born on October 30, 1890 in Oakland, California^[1] to Albert Adams Pennoyer and Virginia Vanderbilt Geddes Edmunds.

He received his early education as a boy in Geneva, Switzerland.^[2] He then studied at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. He first enrolled in college at the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to Harvard.

He graduated from Harvard College in 1914, with an A.B. degree, and received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1917.^[3] In 1913, during his junior year at Harvard, he served as private secretary to John W. Garrett, the American Minister to Argentina, in Buenos Aires.

During World War I, he was called into active duty on November 27, 1917.^[1] Pennoyer served overseas in Europe with the 305th Field Artillery, 77th Division, in the Artillery Intelligence Service, and as liaison officer with units of the French Army on the Western Front. He fought in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse–Argonne offensive. He served overseas from April 26, 1918 to May 5, 1919.

Pennoyer was a Captain of field artillery at his dischargeon May 15, 1919. After the Armistice, he served as Aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. William S. McNair, Chief of Artillery of the First Army of the American Expeditionary Forces.

During World War II, in 1942, he spent some months with the United States Air Force and then transferred to the operations division of the War Department General Staff, where he worked until 1945. From 1943 and 1944, he had two tours of duty as observer for the General Staff in the China Burma India theater. Upon his discharge, he had achieved the rank of Colonel, General Staff Corps.

In 1945, while still in the United States Armed Forces, Pennoyer served on the staff of the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee in Washington, D.C. Later in 1945, he was sent to San Francisco by the United States Department of State to serve in the United Nations Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on International Organization. He was at the San Francisco conference for the formation of the United Nations.^[4]

He was a member of the New York law firm of White & Case^[5] since 1920,^[6] having only taken a three year hiatus to work as an investment banker.^[6] After the end of his military career, Pennoyer restarted his career as a lawyer.^[6] From 1937 to 1939, Pennoyer worked out of the law firm's Paris office. He was Managing Partner of the law firm for 19 years.^[7]

In 1945, the U.S. Army awarded him the Legion of Merit.^[8] In 1962, the French Government made him a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor), the highest award given by the French government.

Pennoyer served as a member, officer, or trustee of many organizations. These included: Board of Managers of the Harvard Club of New York City; Trustee and Secretary of the Pierpont Morgan Library; Treasurer and trustee of the Spence School in New York; director, trustee and secretary of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York;^[9] director of the executive committee and secretary of the France America Society; the Society of Mayflower Descendants;^[10] and the Council on Foreign Relations.

He was also a governor of New York Hospital; a trustee and former chairman of the Police Relief Association of Nassau County; and a fellow of the Frick Collection.

He was also a member of several clubs, including the Bohemian Club in San Francisco;^[11] the Piping Rock Club; and the Century Association.^[12]