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William W. Russell

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William W. Russell
Photograph of Russell, 1905, by Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress
United States Minister to Siam
In office
January 9, 1926 – January 7, 1927
PresidentCalvin Coolidge
Preceded byEdward E. Brodie
Succeeded byHarold Orville MacKenzie
United States Minister to the Dominican Republic
In office
October 7, 1915 – September 12, 1925
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Preceded byJames Mark Sullivan
Succeeded byEvan E. Young
In office
November 3, 1910 – March 2, 1913
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byHorace G. Knowles
Succeeded byJames Mark Sullivan
United States Minister to Venezuela
In office
August 22, 1905 – March 24, 1910
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Preceded byHerbert W. Bowen
Succeeded byJohn W. Garrett
U.S. Minister to Colombia
In office
December 9, 1904 – May 24, 1905
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byArthur M. Beaupre
Succeeded byJohn Barrett
Personal details
Born
William Worthington Russell Jr.

(1858-12-03)December 3, 1858
Washington County, D.C.
DiedMarch 11, 1944(1944-03-11) (aged 85)
Washington, D.C.
Spouse
Grace Campbell Lidstone
​
​
(m. 1905)​
RelationsWilliam Worthington Russell (father)
John Henry Russell]] (uncle)
John H. Russell Jr. (cousin)
Children3
Alma materU.S. Naval Academy
AwardsLegion of Honour

William Worthington Russell Jr. (December 3, 1858 – March 11, 1944) was an American diplomat who served under five presidents.

Early life

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Russell was born on December 3, 1858, in Washington, D.C. He was a son of Maj. William Worthington Russell (1821–1862), once Paymaster of the Marine Corps, and Virginia (née Fletcher) Russell of Alexandria, Virginia.[1] His two sisters were Virginia Russell (wife of John Buchanan Brewer)[2] and Lucy Briscoe Russell.[3]

His paternal grandparents were Robert Grier Russell (brother of U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania James McPherson Russell, both being sons of lawyer and Revolutionary War soldier Alexander Russell) and Susan Hood (née Worthington) Russell.[4] His father was a first cousin of U.S. Representative Samuel Lyon Russell. Among his paternal uncles were Admiral Alexander Wilson Russell and Rear Admiral John Henry Russell and his first cousin was Maj.-Gen. John H. Russell Jr. (father of Brooke Astor).[5]

He attended the Rockville Academy in Rockville, Maryland and the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1881. He later studied engineering and was in the railroad business before entering the diplomatic service.[1]

Career

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Baron Edwin von Seckendorff Russell, in Bogotá, Colombia, 1905

Russell was connected with several surveys of railroad routes in South America, Mexico and the United States and was an assistant engineer in locating the route of the Eads ship-railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. He also served as senior watch officer of the Brazilian cruiser America, which was delivered at the time of the Melo revolution in 1893.[1][6]

Diplomatic career

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In 1895, he was appointed secretary of the American legation at Caracas in Venezuela,[7] serving until 1904 when he was appointed secretary of the legation and chargé d'affaires ad interim at Panama City (following its separation from Colombia in 1903).[1] On March 17, 1904, Russell was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as the U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia. He presented his credentials on December 9, 1904, and served until he left his post on May 24, 1905,[8] when "he was summoned to Washington as a witness in the investigation of the charges preferred by Herbert W. Bowen, Minister to Venezuela, against Assistant Secretary of State Loomis."[9]

On June 21, 1905, President Roosevelt appointed him U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Venezuela and he was commissioned during a recess of the U.S. Senate. He was recommissioned on December 11, 1905, after confirmation. Russell was recalled on March 8, 1908. Jacob Sleeper, who was serving as chargé d'Affaires ad interim, notified the Government of Venezuela that the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Venezuela on June 20, 1908. From August 1908 to January 1909, he was commissioner to the National Ecuadorian Exposition at Quito.[1] On March 15, 1909, when diplomatic relations were re-established, Russell presented new credentials and served until he left his post on March 24, 1910.[8]

On June 24, 1910, he was appointed by President William Howard Taft as the Minister Resident/Consul General to the Dominican Republic and presented his credentials on November 3, 1910. On September 5, 1911, he was promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Dominican Republic and presented his credentials the same day. Russell left his post on March 2, 1913, and was succeeded by James Mark Sullivan until President Woodrow Wilson reappointed Russell to the post on August 16, 1915. He was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and presented his credentials on October 7, 1915, before being recommissioned on December 17, 1915, after confirmation. Russell left his post on September 12, 1925.[8]

On September 28, 1925, he received his final diplomatic appointment from President Calvin Coolidge as U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Siam (Thailand). He was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned on December 17, 1925, after confirmation. He was officially received on January 9, 1926, and served until his retirement, when he left his post on January 7, 1927.[8]

Russell was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1907 for handling French interests in Venezuela. He was also honored by the Venezuelan government for his service to the country.[10]

Personal life

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On May 24, 1905, Russell was married to Grace Campbell Lidstone, a daughter of James M. Lidstone of London, England.[1] Together, they were the parents of three children, William Worthington Russell III (1910–1992), Lidstone Campbell Russell (1915–1964), and Virginia A. Russell.[10]

Russell died at 2900 Connecticut Avenue, his home in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 1944.[10] After a funeral at St. Alban's Church, he was interred at Congressional Cemetery in Washington. His widow died in 1969.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f The National Cyclopædia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time. J. T. White. 1916. p. 58. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. ^ Who's who in the Nation's Capital. Consolidated Publishing Company. 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Miss Lucy B. Russell To Be Buried Tomorrow". Evening Star. 16 September 1943. p. 12. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  4. ^ Thompson, Noma (1949). Western Gateway to the National Capital (Rockville, Maryland). Stewart Printing Company. pp. 118–120. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  5. ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1034. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  6. ^ Vallenilla, Nikita Harwich (1991). Asfalto y revolución: la New York & Bermúdez Company (in Spanish). Fundación para el Rescate del Acervo Documental Venezolano. ISBN 978-980-01-0551-1. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Colombian Diplomats Leave Caracas". The New York Times. 12 August 1901. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "William Worthington Russell - People - Department History". history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute United States Department of State. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  9. ^ "WARSHIP TO FETCH RUSSELL.; Minister to Colombia Will Testify In the Bowen-Loomis Case". The New York Times. 28 May 1905. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "W. W. Russell Dies; Retired Diplomat". Evening Star. 13 March 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Minister to Colombia
December 9, 1904 – May 25, 1905 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Minister to Venezuela
August 22, 1905 – March 24, 1910 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Minister to the Dominican Republic
November 3, 1910 – March 2, 1913 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Minister to the Dominican Republic
October 7, 1915 – September 12, 1925 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Minister to Siam
January 9, 1926 – January 7, 1927 		Succeeded by
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