Mahlon Perkins
Encyclopedia
Mahlon Fay Perkins was a United States diplomat. After serving in China for many years, he was consul-general in Barcelona
during the Spanish Civil War
. It was his intervention which saved the lives of Charles Orr
and Lois Orr
after they had been arrested in the Stalinist crackdown on the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
). He visited them several times when they were in captivity, securing their release on 1 July 1937, and placing them on a ship bound for Marseilles on 3 July.
Perkins, born in North Adams
, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
, graduated from Harvard in 1904. He was U.S. Vice Consul in Chefoo, 1911–12; Shanghai
, 1915–17; U.S. Consul in Changsha, 1918–20; Tientsin, 1926-27.
In 1978, his son, also named Mahlon F. Perkins (1918-2011), who was born in Shanghai, featured in a scandal that rocked the New York legal profession. The younger Perkins, then a partner in the firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine
, who was representing Kodak, admitted lying in an antitrust case brought against the company. He was sentenced to a month in prison and subsequently found his calling as a civil liberties lawyer ,volunteering with the Center for Constitutional Rights for over 11 years.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. It was his intervention which saved the lives of Charles Orr
Charles Orr (socialist)
Charles Andrew Orr was an American economist and socialist. He and his wife, Lois Orr, lived in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, where they supported the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ....
and Lois Orr
Lois Orr
Lois Orr , also known as Louise Cusick, Lois Cusick and Lois Curter, born in the Jewish hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, lived in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, where she was a member of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification female militia...
after they had been arrested in the Stalinist crackdown on the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
Poum
Poum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The town of Poum is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore....
). He visited them several times when they were in captivity, securing their release on 1 July 1937, and placing them on a ship bound for Marseilles on 3 July.
Perkins, born in North Adams
North Adams, Massachusetts
North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...
, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, graduated from Harvard in 1904. He was U.S. Vice Consul in Chefoo, 1911–12; Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, 1915–17; U.S. Consul in Changsha, 1918–20; Tientsin, 1926-27.
In 1978, his son, also named Mahlon F. Perkins (1918-2011), who was born in Shanghai, featured in a scandal that rocked the New York legal profession. The younger Perkins, then a partner in the firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine
Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine
Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine was a white-shoe New York law firm. It was founded in 1929 by General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, often called the Father of the CIA. The firm dissolved in 1998. Its notable antitrust cases include a series of lawsuits involving American Cyanamid in the 1960s...
, who was representing Kodak, admitted lying in an antitrust case brought against the company. He was sentenced to a month in prison and subsequently found his calling as a civil liberties lawyer ,volunteering with the Center for Constitutional Rights for over 11 years.