[2][3] His oldest brother, Charles Pillsbury Lord, was a graduate of Yale University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and had a career in business and education.

[4] His older brother, Richard, died three months after he was born in 1935 with severe deformities as a result of Mary Lord's exposure to icy waters while pregnant during the sinking of SS Mohawk on January 24th, 1935.

Lord was in every Nixon, Ford, and Kissinger meeting with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping during the 1970s.

Lord was a principal drafter of both the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, which opened relations with China, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, which ended the Vietnam War.

][clarification needed] Ambassador Lord has headed and helped direct many private organizations related to international affairs.

on the Boards or as a member of the America-China Forum, The Fletcher School, National Committee on US-China Relations, US-Japan Foundation, American Academy of Diplomacy, Asia Society, and Aspen Institute Distinguished Fellows.

"[15] Lord is a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations.