Walker Blaine (May 8, 1855 – January 15, 1890) was an official in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

Biography

Walker Blaine was born in

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Maine, and third-least populous state capital in the Un ...

, on May 8, 1855, the son of James G. Blaine and Harriet (Stanwood) Blaine. In 1876, he graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, where he served on the third editorial board of ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

'' and was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. He then earned his law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. After law school, Blaine joined the law office of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Cushman Kellogg Davis Cushman Kellogg Davis (June 16, 1838November 27, 1900) was an American Republican politician who served as the seventh Governor of Minnesota and as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Early life and American Civil War Davis was born in Henderson, Ne ...

( R– Minn.) in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. In 1881, Blaine's father became the

United States 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 ...

in the administration of

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

. Blaine's father named him

Third Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

, with Blaine holding this office from July 1, 1881, until June 30, 1882. During his time as Third Assistant Secretary, Blaine and

William Henry Trescot William Henry Trescot (November 10, 1822May 4, 1898) was a Charleston lawyer, historian, and diplomat born in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 10, 1822. He graduated at College of Charleston in 1840, studied law at Harvard University, a ...

were sent on a special diplomatic mission to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Following the death of Garfield and the resignation of the older Blaine, President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

appointed Walker Blaine assistant counsel of the United States for the Court of Commissioners of ''Alabama'' Claims. Blaine held this office until the court's abolition on January 1, 1886. He then moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to practice law. In 1889, Blaine's father became Secretary of State for the second time (this time in the

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

administration) and James G. Blaine again secured a position for Walker Blaine in the

, this time as Solicitor of the Department of State. Walker Blaine died 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, ...

, unexpectedly on January 15, 1890, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

that followed a bout of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington.

References

External links

"Walker Blaine Dead", ''New York Times'', Jan. 15, 1890
*
''The Late Walker Blaine''
Harper's Weekly, January 25, 1890 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaine, Walker 1855 births 1890 deaths United States Assistant Secretaries of State People from Augusta, Maine Yale College alumni Columbia Law School alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Infectious disease deaths in Washington, D.C. Deaths from the 1889–1890 flu pandemic Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Illinois lawyers Minnesota lawyers Maine Republicans Washington, D.C., Republicans American people of Scotch-Irish descent Blaine family 19th-century American lawyers