Horace G. Knowles

Horace Greeley Knowles (October 20, 1863 – November 2, 1937) was an American attorney and diplomat, who served as an ambassador under three U.S. presidents between 1907 and 1913.

Horace G. Knowles
United States Ambassador to Romania
In office
May 7, 1907  February 4, 1909
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn W. Riddle
Succeeded byHuntington Wilson
United States Ambassador to Bulgaria
In office
August 21, 1907  February 4, 1909
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn Brinkerhoff Jackson
Succeeded bySpencer F. Eddy
United States Ambassador to Serbia
In office
January 16, 1907  February 4, 1909
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn W. Riddle
Succeeded byJohn R. Carter
United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
In office
March 7, 1910  August 2, 1910
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byFenton R. McCreery
Succeeded byWilliam W. Russell
United States Ambassador to Bolivia
In office
December 28, 1910  August 23, 1913
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Preceded byJames F. Stutesman
Succeeded byJohn D. O’Rear
Personal details
Born(1863-10-20)October 20, 1863
Seaford, Delaware, United States
DiedNovember 2, 1937(1937-11-02) (aged 74)
New York City, United States
Resting placeArlington Cemetery
Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Edith E. Wallace
(m. 1897)
Alma materUniversity of Delaware
OccupationAttorney and diplomat
Signature

Early life and education

Knowles was born on October 20, 1863, in Seaford, Delaware, the son of Dr. Isaac H. D. Knowles and Sarah Lavinia Short.[1] He attended the University of Delaware and became an attorney in his home state. He married Edith E. Wallace on April 20, 1897, and they had two children.[1]

Knowles became friends with Theodore Roosevelt, who convinced him to enter into the diplomatic corps.

Public career

Knowles served as U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia in the final years of Roosevelt's presidency. He was appointed by Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and later as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia  a post he held through the early months of the Woodrow Wilson's administration.[2] For a period, Knowles remained active in Republican politics: during the 1928 presidential election he campaigned actively for Herbert Hoover, warning that if Democratic nominee Al Smith were victorious, the nation would experience high unemployment and widespread depression.[3]

After leaving the foreign service, Knowles returned to practicing law, and appeared often before the United States Court of Claims.

Retirement and death

In the 1920s, Knowles became "a consistent critic of the policy of the United States in Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti".[4] He was also a critic of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, and became treasurer of the "Committee for Ethiopia", conducting a fundraising drive that collected over $1 million for medical aid to the Ethiopians.[5]

Knowles spent his final years in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, living at 145 East 46th Street. He died there in his sleep on the night of November 2, 1937, of a heart ailment.[6] He was interred at Arlington Cemetery, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

See also

References

  1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. XIV. James T. White & Company. 1910. pp. 487–488. Retrieved December 18, 2020 via Google Books.
  2. "Horace Greeley Knowles (1863–1913)", U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  3. Chiles, Robert (2018). The Revolution of '28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal. Cornell University Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-1501705502. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  4. "Attacks Caribbean Policy". The New York Times. March 27, 1922. p. 7. Retrieved December 18, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Doctors Here". The New York Age. October 12, 1935. p. 2. Retrieved December 18, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Horace G. Knowles, Former U.S. Minister". Brooklyn Eagle. November 4, 1937. p. 15. Retrieved December 18, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
John W. Riddle
United States Ambassador to Romania
1907–1909
Succeeded by
Huntington Wilson
Preceded by
John W. Riddle
United States Ambassador to Serbia
1907–1909
Succeeded by
John Ridgely Carter
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