John Graham (diplomat)

John Graham (1774 – August 6, 1820) was an American politician and diplomat. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia and graduated from Columbia University in 1790. He moved to Kentucky and served in the Kentucky legislature.

John Graham
Acting United States Secretary of State
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 9, 1817
PresidentJames Monroe
Preceded byJames Monroe
Succeeded byRichard Rush
United States Minister to Portugal
In office
June 24, 1819 – June 13, 1820
PresidentJames Monroe
Preceded byThomas Sumter Jr.
Succeeded byJohn James Appleton
Personal details
Born1774 (1774)
Dumfries, Virginia, British America
DiedAugust 6, 1820(1820-08-06) (aged 45–46)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationColumbia University

From 1801 to 1803 he served as secretary and chargé d'affaires in the U.S. legation to Spain. From 1804 to 1807 he was secretary of the Orleans Territory.

Graham was chief clerk of the State Department from 1807 to 1817 and as such was acting United States Secretary of State for five days, from March 4 to March 9, 1817, at the start of the administration of President James Monroe.[1] Along with Caesar Augustus Rodney and Theodorick Bland, Graham was selected by Monroe in 1817 as one of three commissioners for a special diplomatic mission to South America, the South American Commission of 1817-1818.[2] He served as the U.S. Minister to Portugal at Rio de Janeiro from June 24, 1819 to June 13, 1820.[1]

He died in Washington, D.C. on August 6, 1820. His brother, George Graham, was acting Secretary of War under Presidents Madison and Monroe.

References
General
  • National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1901), Vol. XI, p. 317.
  • Peterson, Harold F., Argentina and the United States, 1810-1960 (1964), p. 38 ff.
  • Beers, Henry Putney, French and Spanish Records of Louisiana (1989), p. 22.
Specific
  1. "John Graham (1774–1820)". Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. Rasmussen, Wayne D. (2006). "Diplomats and Plant Collectors: The South American Commission, 1817-1818". In Gerber, James; Lei Guang (eds.). Agriculture and Rural Connections in the Pacific, 1500-1900. The Pacific World: Lands, Peoples and History of the Pacific, 1500–1900. 13. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company. pp. 53–62. ISBN 9780754639787.
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