Showing 1–10 of 11 results
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Born in Boston in 1706 as the tenth son of a soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin began his career as an apprentice in his brother’s printing business. A restless spirit took him to Philadelphia where he opened his own printing shop. Despite very little formal schooling, Franklin’s love for learning and experimentation led him…
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Death April 25, 1990 Recognition/Achievement First African American Foreign Service Officer to become an Ambassador Role/Rank Ambassador Biography Clifton Wharton earned a master of law…
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Recognition/achievement First African-American Diplomat Role/Rank U.S. Minister to Haiti and the Dominican Republic Biography President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Ebenezer Bassett as the U.S. Minister…
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Recognition/Achievement Scholar of International Law and Minister Role/Rank Minister Biography Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Henry Wheaton graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University)…
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Death May 24, 1959 Recognition/Achievement First Secretary of State to hold regular press conferences Role/Rank Secretary of State Biography Grandson of one Secretary of State…
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Born in 1745, John Jay showed great promise at a very young age, entering King's College (now Columbia University) at age fourteen. He graduated with highest honors in 1764 and was admitted to the bar to practice law in New York in 1768. As one of the most prominent members of the…
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Role/rank Minister, Secretary of State, President Recognition/Achievement Negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, Wrote the Monroe Doctrine Biography John Quincy Adams embarked on his first diplomatic mission at…
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Ralph Bunche graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles summa cum laude, with a major in international relations, and earned his doctorate from Harvard University in 1934. Beginning in the 1940s, Ralph Bunche embarked on a career that made him one of the most prominent diplomats in U.S. history. He…
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Thomas Jefferson was born in the British colony of Virginia to an influential planter. After studying the liberal arts at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, he entered a law office and then the Virginia House of Burgesses, distinguishing himself through his written eloquence. In June 1775, Jefferson was elected…
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In 1861, Abraham Lincoln chose his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination Senator William Henry Seward of New York to be his Secretary of State. He served under Lincoln and his successor, Andrew Johnson, until 1869. Although Seward was at times impetuous – shortly after taking office in 1861 he proposed…
