Stimson, Henry L

Stimson, Henry L(ewis)

(born Sept. 21, 1867, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 20, 1950, Huntington, N.Y.) U.S. statesman. A lawyer, he served as U.S. secretary of war (1911–13), governor of the Philippines (1927–29), and U.S. secretary of state (1929–33). After the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (1931), he sent to Japan a diplomatic note, the contents of which became known as the Stimson Doctrine, refusing to recognize territorial changes and reaffirming U.S. treaty rights. As secretary of war (1940–45), he oversaw the expansion and training of U.S. forces in World War II. He was the chief adviser on atomic policy to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman and recommended use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.