Wikipedia

James R. Partridge

James Rudolph Partridge (October 26, 1823 – February 24, 1884) was a diplomat and politician who served in a variety of positions, including as a Maryland State Delegate, Secretary of State of Maryland, Minister Resident to Honduras and United States Ambassador to Brazil.[1]

James R. Partridge
United States Ambassador to Brazil
In office
July 31, 1871 – June 11, 1877
PresidentUlysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded byHenry T. Blow
Succeeded byHenry W. Hilliard
64th Secretary of State of Maryland
In office
1858–1861
GovernorThomas H. Hicks
Preceded byJonathan Pinkney
Succeeded byGrayson Eichelberger
Personal details
Born
James Rudolph Partridge

(1823-10-26)October 26, 1823
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 1884(1884-02-24) (aged 60)
Alicante, Spain
Political partyWhig (1843-1856)
Republican (1856-1884)

Early life and education

edit

Partridge was born in Maryland in 1823. He graduated from Harvard University in 1841 and received masters and law degrees from Harvard in 1843. After graduation, Partridge practiced law in Baltimore and served on a federal commission appointed to resolve Mexican War claims.

Political life

edit

Partridge was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1856, serving as the chairman of its judiciary committee. He was appointed Maryland Secretary of State two years later by newly-elected Governor of Maryland Thomas H. Hicks. He served in the role from 1858 until 1861.[2]

In 1862, Partridge was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to serve as the first foreign minister to Honduras, a post he held from April 25, 1862 until November 14, 1862.[3][4][5][6] Partridge later served as the first U.S. foreign minister[7] to El Salvador from June 15, 1863 to March 22, 1866,[8] and as foreign minister to Venezuela from July 8, 1869 to May 9, 1870.[9][10] Partridge was one of the individuals responsible for establishing diplomatic relations with El Salvador, and supervised the opening of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.[11][12][13]

In 1871, Partridge was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to the role of U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. He served in the post for nearly six years, from July 31, 1871 to June 11, 1877.[14][15][16] During that time, Partridge retained a residence in Washington, D.C.

In April 1882, Partridge was appointed as a foreign minister to Peru after the sudden death of Stephen A. Hurlbut. He took the oath of office and proceeded to the post, but did not present credentials.[17] He was recalled after trying to coordinate the intervention of European diplomats in a war between Peru and Chile, which the Arthur administration said was unauthorized and a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He left Peru in March 1883.[18]

He was later named for a post as a foreign minister to Nicaragua, but his nomination was withdrawn from the United States Senate for consideration.[19]

Death

edit

In the last year of his life, Partridge sailed for Europe, traveled to France, Malta and the Holy Land, and resided for a brief period in Spain. Depressed over the deaths of his wife and children which had occurred over several years, he committed suicide in Alicante on February 24, 1884.[20][21][22]

References

edit
  1. ^ "James Rudolph Partridge - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  2. ^ "Maryland Secretaries of State". sos.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  3. ^ "Honduras - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  4. ^ "Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Third Session Thirty-seventh Congress - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  5. ^ "[Appointment of James R. Partridge as Minister Resident of the United States at Honduras] | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  6. ^ "Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916: James R. Partridge to David Davis, Wednesday, November 21, 1860 (Henry Winter Davis and cabinet appointments; with endorsement from David Davis to Abraham Lincoln)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  7. ^ "Honduras - Countries - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  8. ^ Lincoln, Abraham (2008-10-01). The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434476951.
  9. ^ "Venezuela - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  10. ^ "El Salvador - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  11. ^ "El Salvador - Countries - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  12. ^ Horne, Gerald (2007-03-01). The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814790731.
  13. ^ United States Congressional serial set. 1902.
  14. ^ "Brazil - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  15. ^ Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States0: transmitted to Congress with the Annual message of the President. 1875,1. US GovernmentPrint.Office. 1875.
  16. ^ Congressional Series of United States Public Documents. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1875.
  17. ^ Appletons' Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing Political, Military, and Ecclesiastical Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry. Appleton. 1885.
  18. ^ "Peru - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  19. ^ "Nicaragua - Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  20. ^ "Suicide of James R. Partridge.; the Ex-Minister to Peru Kills Himself at Alicante, Spain". The New York Times. 1884-02-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  21. ^ "The Baltimore Sun, 26 Feb 1884".
  22. ^ The Chronicle. John J.W. O'Donoghue. 1884.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_R._Partridge&oldid=1225618465"