Irwin Boyle Laughlin (April 26, 1871 – April 18, 1941) was an American
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
. He served as
Minister to Greece from 1924 to 1926 and
Ambassador to Spain from 1929 to 1933.
Early life
Laughlin was born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, in 1871 to George McCully Laughlin (1842–1908) and Isabel McKennan Laughlin. His father served in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, participating in the campaigns of the
Fifth Corps of the
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
from
Antietam to
Appomattox. His paternal grandfather was
James H. Laughlin
James Laughlin (March 1, 1806 – December 18, 1882) was an Irish-American banker and capitalist, a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He was born near Portaferry in County Down, Ireland, the son of James Laughl ...
, a pioneer in Pittsburgh's iron and steel industries, and his maternal grandfather was
William McKennan (1816–1893), a
federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level.
United States
A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...
for the
Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
court of appeals.
Laughlin attended
St. Paul's School in
Concord, New Hampshire
Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua.
The village of ...
, and
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he graduated in 1893. After graduation he entered the office of the
Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, established by
Benjamin Franklin Jones and his grandfather, James H. Laughlin. He was the treasurer of the company from 1900 to 1903.
[
]
Diplomatic career
Laughlin left the steel industry in 1903 to pursue a career in the Foreign Service. In 1904 he became private secretary to Lloyd Carpenter Griscom
Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (November 4, 1872 – February 8, 1959) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and newspaper publisher.
Early life
Lloyd Griscom was born on November 4, 1872, at Riverton, New Jersey. He was the son of shipping magnate Clemen ...
, then serving as Minister to Japan. He was appointed second secretary to the American legation in Tokyo in 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
.Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
and Consul General 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 Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
. He was second secretary to the American legation in Peking in 1907, and then served in a similar capacity in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
, and Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.[
In 1910, he served as secretary of the special envoy to the ]Sultan of Turkey Sultan of Turkey may refer to:
* List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from ...
. He was secretary to the Embassy in Berlin and chargé d'affaires
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
in 1911. He was secretary of the Embassy in London from 1912 to 1917 and counselor of the embassy from 1916 to 1919.[
Laughlin then took an extended leave of absence from the Foreign Service in 1919, during which time he built the Meridian House at 1630 Crescent Place in ]Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, on land he had purchased in 1912. He filled the house with his collection of 18th century French drawings and Oriental porcelains and screens.
He returned to diplomacy in 1921 as secretary to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 November 9, 1924) was an American Republican politician, historian, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1924 and is best known for his positions on foreign policy. ...
at the Washington Naval Conference. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
appointed him Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Greece, a position he held for two years. President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
appointed him Ambassador to Spain in 1929, and he served until 1933.[
During Laughlin's ambassadorship to Spain, King Alfonso XIII left the country and the ]Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
was established. When the proclamation of the Republic was issued on April 14, 1931, Laughlin, who had supported Alfonso XIII's efforts to institute a constitutional monarchy, reacted cautiously. He advised Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
against extending formal recognition to the Republic. Stimson ultimately recognized the provisional government after Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
had done so but was careful not to use the term "Spanish Republic" and stated that the U.S. government did not "wish to give the appearance of prejudging events."
Family and later life
On September 18, 1912, Laughlin married Therese E. Iselin, daughter of New York banker Adrian Iselin Jr.
Adrian Georg Iselin Jr. (October 14, 1846 – January 29, 1935) was an American banker.
Early life
Iselin was born on October 14, 1846, in New York City. He was the eldest of seven children born to Adrian Georg Iselin (1818–1905) and Eleanor ...
They had two children, Alexander Laughlin and Gertrude Laughlin. Gertrude married Rear Admiral Hubert Winthrop Chanler. Laughlin died in 1941 at his home in Washington D.C. at the age of 69.[
]
References
External links
Biographical information for Irwin B. Laughlin
from The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laughlin, Irwin B.
1871 births
1941 deaths
Businesspeople from Pittsburgh
St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni
Yale University alumni
American steel industry businesspeople
Ambassadors of the United States to Spain
Ambassadors of the United States to Greece
United States Foreign Service personnel
Iselin family
20th-century American diplomats