US/ICOMOS Remembers The Honorable Russell E. Train, 1920-2012

Dear US/ICOMOS members, friends, and supporters,

US/ICOMOS is saddened to report the death of the Honorable Russell E. Train.  In 2009, US/ICOMOS awarded Mr. Train the Ann Webster Smith Award for International Heritage Achievement for his involvement with World Heritage.

From the award announcement:

“Born in 1920, Russell Train grew up in Washington, D.C., the son and grandson of naval officers. A Princeton and Columbia Law School graduate, he served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945. From 1948 to 1965, Mr. Train served on the staff of the House Ways and Means Committee, as Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury and chief of the Department’s tax legislative staff, and as a U.S. Tax Court judge. Having observed the fragility of the African wilderness while on safari, Mr. Train founded the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation to help African states develop professional resource management.

In 1965, Mr. Train became President of the non-profit Conservation Foundation. Appointed by President Johnson to the National Water Commission, President Nixon asked Mr. Train to chair the group that recommended a White House Office on Environmental Policy and later appointed him Under Secretary of Interior, the first Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the second Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Train is Chairman Emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund (U.S.).

Mr. Train’s involvement with World Heritage began in 1965 when he and Joseph Fisher convinced a White House Conference on International Cooperation to recommend a “Trust for the World Heritage.” At Mr. Train’s urging, this idea was picked up by President Nixon, and Mr. Train proposed the concept at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The Stockholm endorsement resulted in the adoption of the World Heritage Convention by UNESCO the same year, with the U.S. being the first to sign and ratify the convention.”

You can see the full US/ICOMOS award announcement athttp://www.usicomos.org/usicomos-news/2009-ann-webster-smith-award-announced

Obituary in the Washington Post, Tuesday, September 18, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/russell-e-train-former-epa-head-dies-at-92/2012/09/17/3d2c8494-010c-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.html?hpid=z15

Obituary in the New York Times, Monday, September 17, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/science/earth/russell-e-train-92-dies-helped-create-the-epa.html?_r=1&hpw

Sincerely,

Donald G Jones, PhD

Director, US/ICOMOS

[us_single_image image=”7318″]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Previous Post
International Urban Parks Conference, 14-17 July 2012, New York City
Next Post
US/ICOMOS Gala to celebrate UNESCO and the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention