Ellis O. Briggs

Ellis Ormsbee Briggs (December 1, 1899 – February 21, 1976) was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to seven different countries over the course of his career.

Briggs was born in Massachusetts to James Briggs and Lucy Hill Briggs, and was educated at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1921. He married Lucy Barnard in 1928. They had two children; Lucy in 1930, and Everett (who also went on to a career as an American diplomat) in 1934.

President John F. Kennedy nominated Briggs for the post of U.S. Ambassador to Spain. However, due to illness, Briggs was not able to accept that post, and retired from the State Department in 1962.

Briggs was the author of several memoirs and other works, including:

• Shots Heard Round the World: An Ambassador's Hunting Adventures on Four Continents, a memoir written in 1957, while still with the State Department
• Farewell to Foggy Bottom: The Recollections of a Career Diplomat, another memoir, this one written in 1964, after his retirement
• Anatomy of Diplomacy: The Origin and Execution of American Foreign Policy, a 1968 book on international affairs
• Proud Servant: Memoirs of a Career Ambassador, another memoir, this one published posthumously in 1998

He died in 1976 in Gainesville, Georgia.