John Hay, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

John Hay

American statesman, diplomat, author and journalist

Date of Birth: 08-Oct-1838

Place of Birth: Salem, Indiana, United States

Date of Death: 01-Jul-1905

Profession: writer, secretary, politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, journalist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra


Show Famous Birthdays Today, United States

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About John Hay

  • John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century.
  • Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
  • Hay was also an author and biographer, and wrote poetry and other literature throughout much of his life. Born in Indiana to an anti-slavery family that moved to Illinois when he was young, Hay showed great potential, and his family sent him to Brown University.
  • After graduation in 1858, Hay read law in his uncle's office in Springfield, Illinois, adjacent to that of Lincoln.
  • Hay worked for Lincoln's successful presidential campaign and became one of his private secretaries at the White House.
  • Throughout the American Civil War, Hay was close to Lincoln and stood by his deathbed after the President was shot at Ford's Theatre.
  • In addition to his other literary works, Hay co-authored with John George Nicolay a multi-volume biography of Lincoln that helped shape the assassinated president's historical image. After Lincoln's death, Hay spent several years at diplomatic posts in Europe, then worked for the New-York Tribune under Horace Greeley and Whitelaw Reid.
  • Hay remained active in politics, and from 1879 to 1881 served as Assistant Secretary of State.
  • Afterward, he remained in the private sector, until President McKinley, for whom he had been a major backer, made him Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1897.
  • Hay became Secretary of State the following year. Hay served for almost seven years as Secretary of State, under President McKinley, and after McKinley's assassination, under Theodore Roosevelt.
  • Hay was responsible for negotiating the Open Door Policy, which kept China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis, with international powers.
  • By negotiating the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty with the United Kingdom, the (ultimately unratified) Hay–Herrán Treaty with Colombia, and finally the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty with the newly-independent Republic of Panama, Hay also cleared the way for the building of the Panama Canal.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also