Richard Townsend Davies (May 28, 1920 – March 30, 2005) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Poland from 1973 to 1978.
He also served as the counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the U.S. Information Agency assistant director for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe from 1965 to 1968.
During his posting in Poland, he was credited for establishing regular contacts, and forming friendly ties with Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Kraków, who later became known as Pope John Paul II.
[3] Davies also prepared the visits of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter to Poland as ambassador and helped improve trade relations between the two countries.
[1]After his retirement, he maintained an interest in human rights promotion in Eastern Europe and chaired an NGO to support the Polish workers' movement, Solidarity.