Talk:Charles W. F. Dumas

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Copied from the Reference Desk:Edison (talk) 02:14, 26 December 2008 (UTC) There was a guy who was the U.S representative in Holland , a friend of John Adams and probably a friend of Benjamin Franklin, commissioned by the Continental Congress, who helped in obtaining loans for the fledgling U.S. from Holland I'm not sure he has an article in Wikipedia, and I can't recall his name at present, but he was an unacclaimed individual who our early leaders said was very important in the American Revolution.He was very helpful to John Adams. circa 1780 in Holland. Edison (talk) 00:37, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Henry Laurens? The only American ever to be held in the Tower of London. Little Red Riding Hoodtalk 02:42, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The guy I'm thinking of was not Laurens. He was European, a merchant, and fluent in several languages. I recall researching him and finding several references when there was a brief article up for speedy deletion many months ago, but I do not recall if I fixed the article. Edison (talk) 03:21, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wow. It took no little search to find the man I referred to. It was Charles Dumas, friend and pre-war correspondant of Benjamin Franklin [1], Swiss journalist based in Holland, and secret American operative designated by the Continental Congress. See [2] , [3] , [4]. In 1775 Dumas devised the first U.S. diplomatic cipher [5]. Appointed U.S. agent at The Hague 1776 [6]. Dumas was Charge d'Affaires in the Netherlands while Adams was at London [7], [8]. He does not have a Wikipedia article. Should he? Edison (talk) 04:32, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It certainly seems so, if more than passing references to him can be found. The only biographical sketch of him that I could find is this two page account, which, when combined with the references above, is a reasonable start. —Kevin Myers 07:54, 24 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I found him listed in Who Was Who in the American Revolution, and so re-created the stub (and I mean stub) Charles W. F. Dumas. —Kevin Myers 08:51, 24 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]