Hal Vaughan
American writer (1928–2013)
Hal Weston Vaughan (1928–October 17, 2013) was an American author and journalist based in Paris, France. He held several posts as a US Foreign Service officer before becoming a journalist on assignments in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
He served in the United States military in both World War II and Korea. He was involved in a number of covert intelligence activities as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer at Karachi and Geneva during the Cold War. Vaughan had intimate knowledge of clandestine, international operations.
During his tenure with the United States Information Service (USIS), Vaughan developed documentary films in Pakistan. At the U.S. Embassy in Karachi and at the U.S. Consulate General in Dacca, East Pakistan, he covered events for the Voice of America (VOA). Later, Vaughan temporarily carried out duties in Saigon during the Vietnam War. As a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Geneva, Vaughan served as Public Affairs Officer to Vice President Hubert Humphrey (during the Kennedy Round of Tariff Negotiations). Vaughan also held diplomatic posts under Ambassadors W. Michael Blumenthal and W. Averell Harriman.
The public source identifies “Hal Vaughan” as american writer (1928–2013). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vaughan, American and writer.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hal Vaughan”, the useful work is to connect “american writer (1928–2013)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5640953. VIAF identifies the subject as 7696567. The Library of Congress control number is n2004033871. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1928 and 2013.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hal Vaughan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hal Vaughan primary sources, Hal Vaughan archive and Vaughan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hal Vaughan”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hal Vaughan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.