Francis Bowes Sayre Sr. (April 30, 1885 – March 29, 1972) was a professor at Harvard Law School, High Commissioner of the Philippines, and a son-in-law of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

Biography

He was born on April 30, 1885. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

in 1909 and Harvard Law School in 1912. At the start of his career, Sayre worked for

Wilfred Grenfell Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell (28 February 1865 – 9 October 1940) was a British medical missionary to Newfoundland, who wrote books on his work and other topics. Early life and education He was born at Parkgate, Cheshire, England, on 28 Febr ...

's medical mission in Newfoundland, and as an assistant prosecutor in the office of the

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

. On November 25, 1913, Sayre married Jessie Woodrow Wilson (1887–1933), the middle daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, in a ceremony at the White House. In 1914 he began work as an assistant to the president of Williams College. He served on the faculty at Harvard Law School from 1917 to 1933, and he received his J.D.S. degree from Harvard in 1918. He later served as foreign affairs advisor to the government of King Vajiravudh of

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

as successor to American Foreign Affairs Adviser

Edward Henry Strobel Edward Henry Strobel (December 7, 1855 – January 15, 1908) was a United States diplomat and a scholar in international law. Strobel was born in Charleston, South Carolina on December 7, 1855. He was educated at Harvard College and at Harvard La ...

Jens Westengard Jens Iverson Westengard (September 15, 1871 – September 17, 1918) was a Danish American legal scholar and diplomat. He was a faculty member at Harvard Law School, first assistant professor (1899–1903), later Bemis Professor of International ...

and Eldon James;

Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

, High Commissioner of the Philippines, and U.S. representative to the

United Nations Trusteeship Council The United Nations Trusteeship Council (french: links=no, Conseil de tutelle des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests ...

. While Sayre was Siam's foreign affairs advisor, he was appointed by King Prajadhipok as Siam's representative on the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...

at The Hague. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Crown of Siam, and was the second American advisor to be awarded the title '' Phya Kalyanamaitri'' or "the beautiful in friendship." The first American Adviser in Foreign Affairs, also a Harvard law professor, was Edward Henry Strobel. Sayre's immediate subordinate in his capacity of Assistant Secretary of State was Alger Hiss. He died on March 29, 1972, and was buried at

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

Legacy

Sayre's son, Francis Bowes Sayre Jr., (1915–2008) was the dean of the

National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

in Washington from 1951 until his retirement in 1978. His daughter

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

(1916–2001) was an expert on the Spanish painter

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

and served from 1945 to 1984 as a curator at the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

. The Sayre Highway stretching from Cagayan de Oro City to Kabacan, Cotabato in the Philippines was named after him, formerly named Route 3, since he was the one who spearheaded its construction.

References

External links

Francis B. Sayre correspondence
at Williams College Archives & Special Collections
Glad Adventure
- Autobiography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayre, Francis Bowes Sr. 1885 births 1972 deaths Harvard Law School faculty Woodrow Wilson family Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Harvard Law School alumni High Commissioners to the Philippines Williams College alumni American judges of international courts and tribunals 20th-century American judges