Louis De Geofroy
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François-Henri-Louis de Geofroy (17 October 1822 – 5 October 1899) was a French diplomat who was the French ambassador to China from 1872 to 1875 and the chargé d'affaires in Japan.


Early life

Geofroy was born on 17 October 1822 in
Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the southeastern French
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
. He was a son of Dominique de Geofroy and Marie Louise Henriette Blaze.


Career

In 1860, Geofroy became the first secretary of the French legation 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, ...
, briefly replacing Henri Mercier when he took leave to visit
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
at the invitation of
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
William Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...
. In May 1862, Geofroy went to
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 ...
returning to Washington in late 1863 as first-class secretary 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 ...
. After the French minister left, "he handled routine business while waiting for Mercier's replacement to arrive in Washington." Just "a few days before the outbreak of
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
between France and
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to China. He served as the French minister to China from 1872 to 1875. After his service in China, he served in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
as chargé d'affaires in Japan as successor to Ange-Guillaume de St Quentin. In 1880, Goefroy became chairman of the French and American Claims Commission for Civil War Compensation before retiring in 1883. He was made a Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur.


Personal life

Geofroy was married to Catherine Shedden Riggs (1842–1881), a daughter of American banker
George Washington Riggs George Washington Riggs (July 4, 1813 – August 24, 1881) was an American businessman and banker. He was known as "The President's Banker." He was a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Peabody Education Fund. Early life Riggs was ...
of the
Riggs National Bank Riggs National Bank is a historic former headquarters of Riggs Bank, located at 1503–1505 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the downtown Washington, D.C. neighborhood. It was designed by architects York and Sawyer in 1899, c ...
. Among Catherine's siblings were sister, Cecilia (the wife of British diplomat Sir Henry Howard) and brother
T. Lawrason Riggs Thomas Lawrason Riggs (1888–1943) was an American Catholic priest and musical theatre lyricist. Riggs was the first Catholic chaplain of Yale University.''Janick''. Early life The grandson of banker George Washington Riggs, Riggs was from a wealt ...
, a prominent Catholic priest who was the first Catholic chaplain of
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 ...
. Together, they were the parents of five sons: * George Louis Dominique Antoine de Geofroy (1873–1946), a member of the French
Diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( am ...
. * George Jules François de Geofroy (1875–1954), an industrial chemist who married Marie de Forceville (1885–1963), a daughter of Count Léopold de Forceville and Countess Jeanne d'Ortho. His wife died on February 7, 1881, in Washington D.C. Geofroy died on 5 October 1899 in
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, France. He was buried alongside his wife at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington.


Descendants

Through his second son, he was a grandfather of Louis François Léopold de Geofroy, Charles de Geofroy, Henry George de Geofroy, Michel Joseph de Geofroy, and Bertrand de Geofroy.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geofroy, Louis de 1822 births 1899 deaths Ambassadors of France to China Ambassadors of France to Japan People from Vaucluse Commanders of the Legion of Honour Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)