john moore allison (april 7, 1905 – october 28, 1978) was a us diplomat most commonly known for being us ambassador to japan from 1953 to 1957. from 1957 to 1958 he was ambassador to indonesia and from 1958 to 1960 to czechoslovakia. in the 1960s and 1970s he was professor at the university of hawaii. in 1973 he published his memoir, "ambassador from the prairie".