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Odds & Ends
Hiram’s Boy
By Jim Plunkett
 No doubt about it. If it hadn't been for Hiram Bingham, Peru would probably still be somewhere on the African continent for most foreigners. Funny thing is, he wasn't the one who discovered it but rather a Peruvian called Agustin Lizarraga who left his mark in charcoal, which, unfortunately, was "discovered" by Bingham on the walls of the famous ruins. He also found three indigenous families living within the ruins. None of this was mentioned in his most famous book, "Lost City of The Incas." Nevertheless, it was Hiram Bingham III, who made it famous.
He was supposed to follow the footsteps of his grandfather and father as a missionary, and he himself admitted it with fervour while a student at Yale. In a letter to his father he wrote he had "a strong call to be a medical missionary in China." Nevertheless, after falling in love with the heir to the Tiffany jewellery store fortune, Alfreda Tiffany Mitchell, his interest in history and adventure took on a new priority. Thanks to her patience and her family's fortune, he was able to take leaves of absence as a teacher of South American History at Yale and follow the trail of Simon Bolivar and even "discover" Machu Picchu.
Hiram some years later adventured into a new field, politics, where he was elected Governor of the State of Connecticut. To the chagrin of those who supported and promoted him for governor, he resigned his new post the following day after having been sworn in. He got word that the vacancy of a senatorial post had confirmed his prior nomination for senator and he felt it more challenging and opportune to head for Washington and get involved in national politics.
He wasn't very successful. Despite his good intentions, he made an ethical mistake by maintaining a lobbyist on the official payroll and after a hearing, barely escaped impeachment by fellow congressmen who only let him off the hook based on his historical reputation. In Washington, he also fell in love again with a local socialite and ended up divorcing his wife who had produced seven children, all boys.
Another Hiram emerged as a result... his son Hiram IV, or Harry, as they called him. Bingham came from an illustrious family. Unlike his father (on whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based) was not an archaeologist. Instead, Harry entered the US Diplomatic Service and, in 1939, was posted to Marseilles, France as American Vice-Consul.
The USA was then neutral and, not wishing to annoy Marshal Petain's puppet Vichy regime, President Roosevelt's government ordered its representatives in Marseilles not to grant visas to any Jews. Bingham found this policy immoral and, risking his career, did all in his power to undermine it.
In defiance of his bosses in Washington , he granted over 2,500 USA visas to Jewish and other refugees, including the artists Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the family of the writer Thomas Mann. He also sheltered Jews in his Marseilles home and obtained forged identity papers to help Jews in their dangerous journeys across Europe He worked with the French underground to smuggle Jews out of France into Franco's Spain or across the Mediterranean and even contributed to their expenses out of his own pocket.
In 1941, Washington lost patience with him. He was sent to Argentina where later he continued to annoy his superiors by reporting on the movements of Nazi war criminals. Eventually, he was forced out of the American Diplomatic Service completely. Harry Bingham died almost penniless in 1988.
Before leaving office, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, gave a posthumous award for "constructive dissent" to Harry Bingham. For over fifty years, the State Department resisted any attempt to honor Bingham. For them he was an insubordinate member of the US Diplomatic Service, a dangerous maverick who was eventually demoted. Now, after his death, he has been officially recognized as a hero.
Little was known of his extraordinary activities until his son found some letters in his belongings after his death. He has now been honored by many groups and organizations including the United Nations and the State of Israel.
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