John Morgan Francis (March 6, 1823 – June 18, 1897) was an American journalist and diplomat. Francis was born in

Prattsburgh, New York Prattsburgh is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 1,985 at the 2020 census. It is situated in the northeast part of the county, north of Bath. History Prattsburgh was formed from the town of Pulteney in 181 ...

. He left home in 1838 and began working in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

, for several newspapers. He moved to

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

in 1846 and was chief editor of the Northern Budget. Francis founded the Troy Daily Times on June 25, 1841. As a diplomat, Francis served as United States Minister to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(1871-1873), as Minister Resident/Consul General to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(1882-1884) (originally appointed as Chargé d'Affaires, he took the oath of office, but did not proceed to the post in that capacity), and as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary (1884-1885). He was a delegate to the 1894 New York State Constitutional Convention. He died in

References

1823 births 1897 deaths People from Prattsburgh, New York Businesspeople from Troy, New York Editors of New York (state) newspapers Ambassadors of the United States to Austria-Hungary 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Ambassadors of the United States to Greece American company founders 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-diplomat-stub