Richmond Mumford Pearson, Jr. (January 26, 1852 – September 12, 1923) was an American diplomat and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Biography

Richmond Mumford Pearson, Jr. was born 26 January 1852 at Richmond Hill in

Yadkin County, North Carolina Yadkin County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,214. Its county seat is Yadkinville. Yadkin County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...

, the fourth of five children of North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Richmond Mumford Pearson. Pearson studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1874. The same year he was appointed United States

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...

and Liège,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, which he resigned in 1877. Pearson was elected to one term (1884–86) in the North Carolina House of Representatives and later to two consecutive terms in the U.S. House, serving from 1895 to 1899. When he ran for re-election in 1898, he was initially declared the loser, and

William T. Crawford William Thomas Crawford (born June 1, 1856 near Waynesville, North Carolina; died November 16, 1913, Waynesville, North Carolina) was a Representative from North Carolina. He attended the public schools and Waynesville Academy. From 1884-1888 ...

the winner. But he successfully contested the election and was seated for the last half of the Fifty-sixth Congress (May 10, 1900 to March 1901). President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

appointed Pearson consul to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in 1901, ambassador to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1902, and ambassador 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 ...

and

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in 1907. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1909, and lived most of his later life at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, called " Richmond Hill" (the same name as his father's home in Yadkin County). It was there that he died in 1923.

References

External links

Appalachian State University LibraryRichmond Hill Inn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Richmond Ambassadors of the United States to Greece 1852 births 1923 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Iran Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Politicians from Asheville, North Carolina 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American diplomats