Domício da Gama (October 23, 1862 – November 8, 1925) was a Brazilian journalist, diplomat and writer. He was Brazil's ambassador to the United States from 1911 to 1918. In 1918 he became Brazil's minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1919 to 1924, he served as Brazil's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Early life

De Gama was born on October 23, 1862 in

Maricá, Rio de Janeiro Maricá () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Geography Maricá is a city of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area, located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and 25 miles away from the city of Rio de Janeiro. Th ...

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

. He attended preparatory school in Rio de Janeiro and before entering the Polytechnic School, but did not finish.

Career

He entered the Brazilian foreign diplomatic service; his first commission was the secretary of the Immigration Service, and the contact at that time, the Baron of Rio Branco made him Secretary of the Rio Branco mission which established the boundaries of Brazil and Argentina and the boundary with

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

and the

British Guyana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

. He was Secretary of Legation at the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

in 1900 and minister in Lima in 1906, where he instrumental in preparing for the policy of Rio Branco crowned by the

Treaty of Petropolis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

. In 1910, he was Ambassador on special mission representing Brazil in Argentina's independence centenary and the centennial celebrations of Chile. From 1911 to 1918, he served as Brazil's ambassador to the United States, before becoming Brazil's minister for Foreign Affairs in 1918. After one year however, he was sent to London to be the Ambassador to Great Britain.

Honors and awards

On March 4, 1915 Gama and two others received the

Thanks of Congress The Thanks of Congress is a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by American military commanders and their troops. Altho ...

and were awarded

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s (P.L. 63-75, 38 Stat. 1228). The statute reads as follows.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress to their excellencies be, and they are hereby, presented to their excellencies Señor Domício da Gama, Señor Rómulo S. Naón, and Señor Eduardo Suárez for their generous services as mediators in the controversy between the Government of the United States of America and the leaders of the warring parties in the Republic of Mexico. That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and requested to cause to be made and presented to their excellencies Señor Domicio da Gama, Señor Rómulo S. Naón, and Señor Eduardo Suárez suitable gold medals, appropriately inscribed, which shall express the high estimation in which Congress holds the services of these distinguished statesmen, and the Republics which they represent, in the promotion of peace and order in the American continent.

Personal life

On November 27, 1912, De Gama was married to American heiress Elizabeth ( née Bates) Volck Hearn at 856 Fifth Avenue in New York City (the home of U.S. Steel President

Elbert Henry Gary Elbert Henry Gary (October 8, 1846August 15, 1927) was an American lawyer, county judge and business executive. He was a founder of U.S. Steel in 1901, bringing together partners J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and Charles M. Schwab. The city o ...

) by Mayor

William Jay Gaynor William Jay Gaynor (February 2, 1849 – September 10, 1913) was an American politician from New York City, associated with the Tammany Hall political machine. He served as the 94th mayor of the City of New York from 1910 to 1913, and previously ...

. Elizabeth, the widow of Arthur H. Hearn, was a daughter of Joseph Bates and Amanda Jane (née Bell) Bates. De Gama died on November 8, 1925 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Gallery

File:DaGama 5285931236 6ae65dedec o.jpg, Portrait of Domício da Gama, ca. 1910-1915 File:Gama 5456217050 0e4532c7cf o.jpg, Gama and his wife, Elizabeth Bates Volck Hearn da Gama, at the 1914 Niagara Falls peace conference File:Eduardo Suárez Mujica and Domício da Gama and Romulo S. Naon Niagara Falls peace conference 1914.jpg, Eduardo Suárez Mujica, da Gama and Rómulo Sebastián Naón at the 1914 Niagara Falls peace conference

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gama, Domicio da 1862 births 1925 deaths Ambassadors of Brazil to the United States Ambassadors of Brazil to the United Kingdom Congressional Gold Medal recipients Brazilian journalists People from Rio de Janeiro (state)