Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (November 4, 1872 – February 8, 1959) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and newspaper publisher.

Early life

Lloyd Griscom was born on November 4, 1872, at

Riverton, New Jersey Riverton is a borough located in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 2,779,Clement Griscom (1841–1912) and Frances Canby Biddle (1840–1923). Among his siblings was Frances Griscom, an amateur golfer who won the 1900 U.S. Women's Amateur held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, New York, She and played in the 1898 Amateur at the Ardsley Club. He graduated in 1891 from the law department of

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and a member of the Sigma Chapter of the Zeta Psi Fraternity. Griscom continued his legal studies at the

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

. He later received a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907.

Career

Day of Griscom's flight with Wilbur Wright flying the plane (4055965037)

In 1893–1894, Griscom served in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as secretary to Ambassador Thomas Bayard; he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1896, and the following year in 1897 he was deputy district attorney of New York. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, he served as captain and assistant quartermaster. After a short period as Secretary of Legation and chargé d' affaires at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, Griscom was appointed Minister 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 1901. He held the corresponding post in Japan (1902–1906) and was ambassador to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(1906–1907) and to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(1907–1909). In 1911, he became a member of the law firm of Beekman, Menken, and Griscom,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and was thereafter active in local

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politics, helping found

The New York Young Republican Club The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) is an organization for members of the Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 in New York City. The New York Young Republican Club is the oldest and largest chapter in the United States, founded ...

. He contributed numerous articles to the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

''Sunday Press'' on travel in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. In 1917, he was appointed a major in the department of the Adjutant-General of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and afterwards became Assistant Adjutant-General. During the war, she served as liaison officer to General John J. Pershing, commander of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. He was a close friend of Col.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ), often known as Theodore Jr.Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the President's fame made it simple ...

Griscom's primary significance was as an advocate for globalized free trade as a means to promote peaceful development in accordance with his Quaker faith. In the Middle East he worked for better relations between Muslims and Christians, and he played a major role in the relief effort in Italy after the

1908 Messina earthquake The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epice ...

took 50,000 lives. Prior to the death of Secretary of State John Hay in 1905, Griscom was offered the post of First Assistant Secretary of State. The appointment of Elihu Root to succeed Hay nullified Griscom's appointment to the State Department position.

Later life

Following his retirement from public service, he bought and became the publisher of several Long Island newspapers, including the ''East Norwich Enterprise'', the ''North Hempstead Record'', and the ''Nassau Daily Star''. Griscom purchased the ''Tallahassee'' lorida''Democrat'' in 1929 owning it until his death in 1959. He was a cousin by marriage to

Wolcott Gibbs Wolcott Gibbs (March 15, 1902 – August 16, 1958) was an American editor, humorist, theatre critic, playwright and writer of short stories, who worked for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1927 until his death. He is notable for his 1936 parody o ...

, who later worked at several of Griscom's Long Island newspapers. Griscom studied painting under John Singer Sargent.

Personal life

On November 2, 1901, Griscom was married to Elizabeth Duer Bronson (1877–1914), the daughter of lawyer Frederic Bronson. Her mother, Sarah Gracie King, was the granddaughter of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

James Gore King and

William Alexander Duer William Alexander Duer (September 8, 1780 – May 30, 1858) was an American lawyer, jurist, and educator from New York City who served as the President of Columbia University from 1829 to 1842. He was also a slaveholder, owning numerous enslave ...

. Through Elizabeth's uncle, Frederick Gore King, she was the first cousin of Alice Gore King. The Bronsons lived at 174 Madison Avenue and had a country home, "Verna" in

Southport, Connecticut Southport is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut. It is located along Long Island Sound between Mill River and Sasco Brook, where it borders Westport. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,710. Settle ...

(which later became the

Fairfield Country Day School Fairfield Country Day School (FCDS) is a private, all-boys day school in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1936 by Laurence W. Gregory, the School prepares boys in Grades K-9 for secondary school success. Athletics Athletics are ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Bronson Winthrop Griscom (1907–1977), who married Sophie Gay, the niece of painter Walter Gay, in 1931. * Lloyd Preston Griscom (b. 1913). After her death in 1914, he remarried to Audrey Margaret Elizabeth Crosse (1900–1975) in England on October 3, 1929. Audrey was the daughter of Marlborough Crosse and the niece of C. E. Barnwell Ewins of Marston Trussell Hall in Leicestershire. His best man at the wedding was Brig. Gen. Sir Charles Delmé-Radcliffe (who married the daughter of

Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet (15 February 1853 – 7 December 1923), was a prominent British surgeon, and an expert in anatomy. Treves was renowned for his surgical treatment of appendicitis, and is credited with saving the life of Ki ...

), who was British military

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

at Rome while Griscom was envoy there. Griscom died of a stroke on February 8, 1959, at Archbold Memorial Hospital in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the second largest city in southwest Georgia after Albany. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" an ...

while visiting his sister Frances who was a patient there.Newspaper Owner, Former Envoy, Dies
/ref> After his death, his widow, who inherited the bulk of his estate including the Leon county

Luna Plantation Luna Plantation was a quail hunting plantation located in northeastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Lloyd C. Griscom. Lloyd C. Griscom was the son of Clement A. Griscom from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clement was a ship ...

as well as the ''

Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett Co., ...

'', which she ran from 1958 through 1965.

References

*Salvatore Prisco, "Progressive Era Diplomat: Lloyd C. Griscom and Trade Expansion," DIPLOMACY & STATECRAFT, 18 (September 2007), 539–549.

References

External links

Lloyd Carpenter Griscom
at the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

website. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griscom, Lloyd Carpenter 1872 births 1959 deaths People from Riverton, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni New York Law School alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Military personnel from New Jersey United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Quartermasters Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United States to Iran Ambassadors of the United States to Italy Ambassadors of the United States to Japan Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Lawyers from Philadelphia New York (state) Republicans 20th-century American diplomats