Hugh Pitcairn (August 16, 1845 – July 19, 1911) served as the first

United States consul general United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, from 1903 to 1908. He was the brother of Pennsylvania railroad magnate

Robert Pitcairn Robert Pitcairn (May 6, 1836 – July 25, 1909) was a Scottish-American railroad executive who headed the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 19th century. He was the brother of the PPG Industries, Pittsburgh Plate Glass ...

and industrialist

John Pitcairn Major John Pitcairn (28 December 1722 – 17 June 1775) was a Marine Service officer who was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, at the start of the American War of Independence. Born in Scotland in 1722, Pitcairn joined the Naval Service at ...

Early life

Pitcairn was born in

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

, Renfrewshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to John Pitcairn Sr. (1803–1884) and Agnes McEwan. He was one of six children resulting from the marriage, and also had two older half-siblings from his father's first marriage. In 1846, he emigrated with his family to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where his uncle, Alexander Pitcairn, had started a

woolen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

s business. He received a public school education in Allegheny and Altoona, Pennsylvania. He began his career in the railroad service, and held a series of executive positions in the field: first as superintendent of the Susquehanna Division of the

Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, wh ...

, in 1866; then as superintendent of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad in 1868, next as superintendent of the Evansville, Henderson and Nashville Railroad in 1870, and finally, as superintendent of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway from 1872 to 1875. Pitcairn then went back to school to study medicine, and following graduation from Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1880, spent two years in post graduate study at the Universities of Berlin and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He then practiced medicine in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

from 1880 to 1897. In 1875, Pitcairn purchased a half interest the

Altoona Tribune The ''Altoona Tribune'' was a daily newspaper in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It was in operation from 1856 to 1957. History It was launched on January 1, 1856, by Ephraim B. McCrum and William M. Allison, with equipment purchased from the defunc ...

, a Pennsylvania daily newspaper. He was to retain this share until his death.

Political career

A Republican, Pitcairn was quite active in local and state politics. On July 28, 1897, he was appointed by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

to the post of consul to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He was promoted by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

to the post of consul general on January 5, 1903, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 12, 1903. He was the first person to hold this post for Hamburg. He retired from the consulate in November 1908 to the reported regret of the citizens of Hamburg, in order to devote his full attention to the practice of medicine and his duties as partial owner of the ''

''.

Later life and death

Pitcairn died in Hamburg, on July 19, 1911. He was survived by his wife and five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcairn, Hugh 1845 births 1911 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Germany People from Pennsylvania Scottish emigrants to the United States Drexel University alumni University of Vienna alumni