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Richard Queen ‘73
Overview
Richard Queen, Hamilton Class of 1973, was a history major who became a U.S. Foreign Service officer and one of the 52 Americans held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran from 1979 to 1981. His captivity gave the Iranian hostage crisis a direct local dimension for the Hamilton community, which followed his situation through Spectator coverage.
Relevance to Research
Queen’s background and captivity are documented in the February 8, 1980 Spectator, when his captivity had lasted nearly 100 days. The paper records his Hamilton credentials in detail: history major with departmental honors, study of Russian, member of ELS and the Outing Club. He served as U.S. Vice Consul in charge of student visas at the Tehran embassy and was among the 52 hostages taken in November 1979. His story is one of the most personally specific connections between a Hamilton alumnus and a major national news event documented in the corpus.
Notes
Role: Hamilton alumnus; U.S. Vice Consul, Tehran
Years active at Hamilton: Class of 1973 (student years approximately 1969–1973)
Key events:
- History major at Hamilton, with departmental honors; also studied Russian
- Member of ELS and the Outing Club
- Became U.S. Vice Consul in charge of student visas at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
- Taken hostage with 51 other Americans in November 1979
- Spectator covered his captivity in February 1980 when it had lasted nearly 100 days
- His story gave the hostage crisis a direct local dimension for the Hamilton community