John Ridgeley Carter (November 28, 1864 – June 4, 1944) was an American attorney, diplomat, and banker.

Early life

Carter was born on November 28, 1864 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He was one of fourteen children born to Mary Buckner (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ridgely) Carter and Bernard Carter, a prominent lawyer and professor. Through his father, he was a member of the prominent Carter and Lee families of Virginia and was a descendant of

Henry Lee III Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia United States House of Representatives, Repres ...

, the 9th

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

. His paternal grandparents were Charles Henry Carter and Rosalie Eugenia (née Calvert) Carter (a daughter of

George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

and

Rosalie Stier Calvert Rosalie Stier Calvert (February 16, 1778 – March 13, 1821) was a plantation owner and correspondent in nineteenth century Maryland. A collection of her letters, titled ''Mistress of Riversdale, The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calve ...

), a descendant of

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

the first colonial proprietor of the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...

. His paternal aunt, Alice Carter, was married to

Oden Bowie Oden Bowie (November 10, 1826December 4, 1894), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 34th Governor of the State of Maryland in the United States from 1869 to 1872. Childhood He was born in 1826 at Fairview Plantation in Colli ...

, 34th

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

. Carter received his undergraduate degree in 1883 from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, followed by an M.A. degree there in 1885. After graduate work at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, a law degree from

Maryland University The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

in 1887, and another from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1888, he was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1889.

Career

In 1894, Carter accepted his first diplomatic appointment as secretary to

Thomas F. Bayard Thomas Francis Bayard (October 29, 1828 – September 28, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from Wilmington, Delaware. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served three terms as United States Senate, United States ...

, the

U.S. Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...

in London. He was made second secretary in 1896 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 1897. He served under Ambassadors

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...

Joseph Hodges Choate Joseph Hodges Choate (January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917) was an American lawyer and diplomat. Choate was associated with many of the most famous litigations in American legal history, including the Kansas prohibition cases, the Chinese exclusi ...

until 1905, when he was appointed Secretary of the

American Embassy in London The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. It is located in Nine Elms and is the largest American embassy in Western Europe and the focal point for events relating ...

under Ambassador

Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-York Tribu ...

, remaining in that role until 1909. On September 25, 1909, he was appointed as U.S. Minister at

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He presented his credentials on November 14, 1909 and served until October 24, 1911. While Minister to Romania, he concurrently served as the U.S. Minister to Serbia and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

(appointed as diplomatic agent on September 25, 1909, followed by U.S. Minister on June 24, 1910, although he never presented his credentials). In 1911, he was offered the post of U.S. Minister to Argentina, but refused it because it came without a house to live in. Carter felt that without such accommodation, the post would be too expensive for him on his annual salary of $12,000. It was estimated that Charles H. Sherrill, the minister he was intended to replace (and under whom

Robert Woods Bliss Robert Woods Bliss (August 5, 1875 – April 19, 1962) was an American diplomat, art collector, philanthropist, and one of the co-founders of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, D.C. Early life Bliss was born in St. ...

served as secretary of the legation in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

), spent $100,000 yearly to maintain his position.

Later career

After Carter left the diplomatic service, he joined Morgan, Harjes & Co. in Paris in 1912, where he lived for twenty-five years, becoming a partner in 1914. With the firm, he traveled to

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

to represent American stockholders of the Chilean-Argentine railway.4 Following the death of

Henry Herman Harjes Henry Herman Harjes (20 February 1875 – 20 August 1926) was a French born American polo player and banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co. Early life Harjes was born on 20 February 1875 in Paris, France. He was a son of John Henry Harjes (1829–1914 ...

in 1926, he was the senior partner of the firm, which was renamed Morgan & Cie. Due to his efforts during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, France made him a Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur. After the

German invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

in 1940, Carter returned to New York in October 1940, where they lived until his death in 1944.

Personal life

In 1887, Carter was married to Alice Morgan (1865–1933) 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, ...

Alice, one of seven children born to Carolyn (née Fellowes) Morgan and banker David Pierce Morgan, was the sister of William Fellowes Morgan Sr. Together, they were the parents of: * Caroline Mildred Carter (1888–1965), who married Archibald, Viscount Acheson (later the 5th

Earl of Gosford Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford. The Acheson family descends from the Scottish statesman Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh, who later settled ...

), in 1910. * Bernard Shirley Carter (1893–1961), a prominent banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co. who married Louise Hope Thacher. He was a member of both the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most aristocratic gentlemen's clubs in th ...

in New York and the

Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...

His wife died at their home in

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other h ...

, near Paris in 1933. Carter died on June 4, 1944 at the Knickerbocker Club, his residence in New York City. His funeral was held at St. Bartholomew's Church on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

Legacy

Carter was painted by prominent American artist

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

in 1901. In May 1908, Sargent also painted a portrait of his daughter Mildred in London that was described at the time by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "in the painter's best manner and brings out all of the innate sweetness of nature which has endeared Miss Carter to her English as much as to her American friends, all of whom agree that she has the wonderful tact and urbanity of her father." In 2007, the portrait of John R. Carter sold at

Sothebys Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

for $1,833,000.

References

External links

John Ridgely Carter
at the

National Portrait Gallery (United States) The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, John R. 1864 births 1944 deaths Leipzig University alumni University System of Maryland alumni Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Harvard Law School alumni American lawyers Ambassadors of the United States to Romania Ambassadors of the United States to Bulgaria Ambassadors of the United States to Serbia American bankers Ridgely family 20th-century American diplomats