Deaths on February 27

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American politician and diplomat, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1902)

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and Republican United States senator from Massachusetts in both Senate seats in non-consecutive terms of service and a United States ambassador. He was considered for the vice presidency, most significantly in 1952 by Dwight Eisenhower. Later, largely due to Eisenhower's advice and encouragement, he ended up being chosen as the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 presidential election alongside incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. The Republican ticket narrowly lost to Democrats John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1964, Lodge won by a plurality a number of that years‘ party presidential primaries and caucuses on the strength of his name, reputation, and respect among many voters, though the nomination went to Barry Goldwater. This effort was encouraged and directed by low-budget but high-impact grassroots campaign by academic and political amateurs.

Born in Nahant, Massachusetts, Lodge was the grandson of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and the great-grandson of Secretary of State Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen. After graduating from Harvard University, Lodge won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He defeated Democratic Governor James Michael Curley in 1936 to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate. He resigned from the Senate in 1944 to serve in Italy and France during World War II. Lodge remained in the Army Reserve after the war and eventually rose to the rank of major general. In 1946, Lodge defeated incumbent Democratic Senator David I. Walsh to return to the Senate.

He led the Draft Eisenhower movement before the 1952 election and served as Eisenhower's campaign manager, ensuring that his candidate triumphed at the 1952 Republican National Convention. Eisenhower defeated Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson II in the general election, but Lodge lost his own re-election campaign to John F. Kennedy. Lodge was named as ambassador to the United Nations in 1953 and became a member of Eisenhower's Cabinet. Vice President Richard M. Nixon chose Lodge as his Vice-Presidential running mate in the 1960 presidential election, but the Republican ticket lost the close election.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed Lodge to the position of Ambassador to South Vietnam, where Lodge supported the 1963 South Vietnamese coup. He continued to represent the United States in various countries under President Lyndon B. Johnson, President Nixon, and President Gerald Ford. Lodge led the U.S. delegation that signed the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam, leading to the end of the Vietnam War. He died in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1985.