Richard Cunningham Patterson Jr.

Richard Cunningham Patterson Jr. (1886–1966) was an American diplomat. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia (1944–1946), Guatemala (1948–1951), and U.S. Minister to Switzerland (1951–53). While ambassador to Guatemala, he popularized the so-called "duck test".

Richard Cunningham Patterson, Jr. in The Hot War
Richard Cunningham Patterson, Jr. was the U.S. Minister to Switzerland during World War III. As Switzerland remained neutral, U.S. and Soviet diplomats continued to talk to one-another there.

In June, 1952, after President Harry Truman offered a return to the status quo antebellum, Soviet diplomat Ivan Turginov approached Cunningham for further details. Turginov also wanted clarification about control of Soviet satellite states, and hinted that Lavrenty Beria's position was not stable. Cunningham alerted Truman via cable.