Foster, John Watson, 1836-1917

Military man, journalist, and diplomat. Served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, 1873-1880; to Russia, 1880-1881; and to Spain, 1883-1885. Served as U.S. secretary of state, 1892-1893.

From the description of Letter : United States Legation, Mexico, to A. Langdon, Washington, D.C., 1880 Feb. 7. (Buffalo History Museum). WorldCat record id: 57210087

Epithet: US Minister in St Petersburg

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001345.0x0001f5

Diplomat, U.S. secretary of state, lawyer, and publisher.

From the description of John Watson Foster papers, 1872-1917 (bulk 1872-1905). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77866498

John Watson Foster was an American military man, journalist, and diplomat. He served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison in 1892 and 1893. He also helped the Qing Dynasty in drafting the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895 as a legal consultant and commissioner. His grandchildren included John Foster Dulles, who also became a U.S. Secretary of State, Allen Welsh Dulles, a director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Eleanor Lansing Dulles, an economist and diplomat.

From the guide to the Selected Papers of John W. Foster, 1892-1916, (Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections)

John Watson Foster (b. Mar. 2, 1836, Petersburg, Indiana-d. Nov. 15, 1917, Washington, D.C.) was a Civil War Union Army Officer, US Diplomat, and Presidential Cabinet Secretary. After the Civil War he became a journalist, and served as editor of the Evansville Daily Journal from 1865 to 1869. He was then appointed as United States Minister to Mexico, serving from 1873 to 1880 under Presidents Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes. In 1880 President Hayes transferred him to the post of United States Minister to Russia, where he served from 1880 to 1881. In 1883 he was appointed as United States Minister to Spain, serving at that position from 1883 to 1885. In 1892 he was appointed as United States Secretary of State during President Benjamin Harrison's Administration, serving from 1892 to 1893. He was the grandfather of Eisenhower Administration Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.

From the description of Foster, John Watson, 1836-1917 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 12202848