Homegrown hero

US Holocaust Memorial Museum

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As per a new state law, Connecticut now has an annual day honoring Hiram Bingham. You could be forgiven for assuming it is for Hiram Bingham III, Yale Class of 1898, a US senator also known for his exploration of Machu Picchu. But the honoree is in fact his son, Hiram Bingham IV, Class of 1925 (above, in Marseilles, France). The younger Bingham is celebrated for his work during World War II, when he worked at the US consulate in Marseilles. In 1940 and 1941, defying state department policy, he issued thousands of visas to refugees—many of them Jewish—to get them out of harm’s way. He was removed from his post and denied a promotion, but decades later, he was celebrated as a hero as knowledge of his work became widespread.

The inaugural Hiram Bingham IV Day was observed on July 17—Bingham’s birthday—at an event in Salem, Connecticut, where Bingham lived after he retired. “His legacy challenges us to do the right thing, even when it’s difficult,” said lieutenant governor Susan Bysiewicz ’83.