Lucius Harwood Foote (April 10, 1826 – June 4, 1913) was the first American minister to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and served from 1883-1885.

Early life

Lucius Foote was born April 10, 1826, in Winfield, New York to Rev. Lucius Foote and Electa Harwood. He married in 1862 to Rose Frost Carter (d. 1885).

Pre-Korea years

Lucius Foote was the

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

, from December 21, 1871 – December 13, 1875.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea

In May 1882, Korea and the United States signed a treaty of commerce, in Chemulpo Port (modern day

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

). This treaty required an American political presence in Korea. Foote was assigned a year later, with the title, "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary". However, due to low trade volumes, in July 1884, Foote was demoted to the position of "Minister Resident". In August 1884, he purchased a

hanok A ''hanok'' () is a traditional Korean house. ''Hanok'' were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. Korean architecture considers the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought give ...

-style house, from the Min family and thus established the

American Legation The Tangier American Legation ( ar, المفوضية الأميركية في طنجة; french: Légation américaine de Tanger), officially the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIMS), is a building in the ''medina'' of ...

. He shared the building with

Horace Newton Allen Horace Newton Allen (April 23, 1858 – December 11, 1932) was a missionary, physician, and American ambassador to Korea. He was the first Protestant missionary in Korea, arriving there on September 15, 1884. After treating Min Young-ik, a r ...

. When Lucius Foote resigned and left

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, in January 1885,

George Clayton Foulk George Clayton Foulk (October 30, 1856 – 1893) was a United States Navy officer and U.S. Naval Attache to the Kingdom of Korea in 1876. He also served as chargé d'affaires to the Kingdom of Korea in the absence of the American minister or con ...

replaced him.

Later years

Lucius Foote retired to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. He died there on June 4, 1913.

References

External links

Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Lucius Harwood 1826 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Korea