Cause of death Lung cancer Spouse Catherine Jones Political party Democratic Siblings Alger Hiss | Name Donald Hiss Nephews Tony Hiss Role Alger Hiss' brother | |
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Born December 15, 1906 ( 1906-12-15 ) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Occupation lawyer, government official Employer Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1933-1935), U.S. Department of State (1936-1945), Covington & Burling (1945-1976) Children Bosley Hiss
Cynthia Hiss Grace
Joanna Hiss Hoople Relatives Bosley Hiss, brother
Alger Hiss, brother
Anna Hiss, sister Died May 18, 1989, St. Michaels, Maryland, United States Parents Mary Lavinia Hughes, Charles Alger Hiss Education Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins University | ||
Donald Hiss (December 15, 1906 – May 18, 1989), AKA "Donie" and "Donnie," was the younger brother of Alger Hiss, who in 1948 was accused of — but not charged with — spying for the Soviet Union, and who, in 1950, was controversially convicted of perjury before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
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Early life
Donald Hiss was born on December 15, 1906, in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University and the Harvard Law School.
Early career: government
In 1932, he was a law secretary to Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the United States Supreme Court. From 1933 to 1935, he was employed by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration of the United States Department of Labor. In 1934, he was also attached to a special U.S. Senate committee investigating the munitions industry. In 1935, he was employed as a special attorney by the United States Department of Justice.
On September 18, 1936, he was appointed an assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State and worked in the State Department throughout World War II. In 1945, he joined the law firm of Covington & Burling.
Hiss Case
On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers included the name of Donald Hiss along with his brother Alger and more than half a dozen other former Federal officials as members of the Ware Group and of the Communist Party when testifying under subpoena to HUAC.
On August 7, 1948, Chambers stated to the committee, "I can give you the general impression. He was much less intelligent than Alger. Much less sensitive than his brother."
On August 13, 1948, like his brother and Harry Dexter White, Hiss denied the allegation, stating:
I flatly deny every statement made by Mr. Chambers with respect to me. I am not, and never have been, a member of the Communist Party or of any formal or informal organizations affiliated with, or fronting in any manner whatsoever for, the Communist Party. In fact, the only organizations and clubs to which I have belonged are the local Y.M.C.A., the Miles River Yacht Club of Maryland, the old Washington Racquet Club, the Harvard Law School Association, the American Society of International Law, and college fraternities and athletic clubs.
I have no recollection of ever having met any person by the name of D. Whittaker Chambers, nor do I recognize his photograph which I have seen in the public press. I am not and never have been in sympathy with the principles of the Communist Party ... I have never known that man by the name of Chambers, Carl, or any other name...
If I am lying, I should go to jail, and if Mr. Chambers is lying, he should go to jail."
Unlike his brother Alger, Donald was never indicted.
Later career: private law
Donald Hiss spent the remainder of his career in private law practice with Covington & Burling. His expertise lay in international trade and tariff law. He taught international law at Catholic University and at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
He retired in 1976. Dean Acheson, who famously defended the reputation of Alger Hiss, was also a member of Covington & Burling.
Death
Hiss died of lung cancer on May 18, 1989, in St. Michaels, Maryland.