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Byrnes, James F. (James Francis), 1882-1972

The Potsdam Conference Room

Opening session of the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany. President Harry S. Truman is seated foreground (back to camera). Soviet Prime Minister Josef Stalin is at right. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is at left. Secretary of State James Byrnes is seated to the right of President Truman. Admiral William Leahy is seated two to the right of President Truman. British foreign minister Anthony Eden is to the left of Winston Churchill. Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov is to the left of Prime Minister Stalin. All others are unidentified.

James F. Byrnes and King George VI Shake Hands

Secretary of State James F. Byrnes (foreground, second from left) and King George VI (center, right) shake hands during the King visit aboard the USS Augusta. Also present are Admiral William D. Leahy (left), President Harry S. Truman (foreground, third from left, mostly obscured by King George VI), Captain James Foskett (right), and Captain James K. Vardaman (just behind Captain Foskett). All others are unidentified. King George VI visited the Augusta before it left to return to the United States from the Potsdam Conference.

President Truman Announces Japanese Surrender

President Harry S. Truman (standing at desk) announces the surrender of Japan to reporters assembled in the Oval Office. Seated on couch, left to right: Reathel Odum; First Lady Bess W. Truman; Samuel Rosenman, Special Counsel; and John W. Snyder, Director, Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Also pictured: Secretary of State James Byrnes (behind President Truman, right). Journalist Vivianne Lovell of Agence France-Presse stands in the striped dress in the front row, center of the reporters. Signed by President Truman and John Snyder.

Cabinet Members and Others at the White House

Cabinet members and others meet at the White House. From left to right, around the table: Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson; Secretary of Labor Lewis Schwellenbach; John Blandford, Jr. of the National Housing Agency; Julius Krug of the War Production Board; John Snyder of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion; William H. Davis of the Office of Economic Stabilization; Leo T. Crowley of the Foreign Economic Administration; Secretary of Commerce Henry A.