Ellis Loring Dresel (November 28, 1865September 19, 1925) was an American lawyer and diplomat. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, from 1915 to 1917, Dresel was

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 ...

to the U.S. embassy in Berlin. After the war, Dresel signed the peace treaty with Germany, and served as chargé d'affaires for a few months, before retiring from the Foreign Service altogether.

Biography

The son of German pianist and composer Otto Dresel and Anna Loring, Ellis Dresel was born in Boston on November 28, 1865. He had one sibling, a sister Louisa. His maternal grandfather, Ellis Gray Loring, was an abolitionist and one of the founders of the

New England Anti-Slavery Society The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, headquartered in Boston, was organized as an auxiliary of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1835. Its roots were in the New England Anti-Slavery Society, organized by William Lloyd Garrison, editor of ...

. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1887 and from Harvard Law School in 1892. He was fluent in French and German. He practiced law with the firm of Goodwin, Dresel and Parker in Boston and lived there on

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston U ...

for most of his life. He also served as a director of Corbin Copper and Silver Mining Company. He belonged to several private clubs and, with his sister as hostess, gave a

cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...

at Christmas 1906 at the New Algonquin Club. He was in Europe when World War I broke out in 1915 and he volunteered his services to the U.S. embassy in Berlin, first helping Americans stranded in Germany. After being forced to leave Berlin when the United States entered the war, he handled the affairs of the U.S. embassy in Vienna until the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke off diplomatic relations. He was responsible for relations between the German government and British prisoners of war from 1917 to 1918. During that time, in

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

, Dresel also worked with the American Red Cross, the American Legation, and its War Trade Board. Dresel led the political information section of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. From 1919 to 1921, he was the United States commissioner to Germany where he promoted the public presence of the United States with annual Fourth of July celebrations. He signed the treaty that concluded hostilities between the United States and Germany and restored their diplomatic relations on November 11, 1921. Dresel was the first American diplomatic observer to visit Germany after

. In 1921, his title was changed to '' chargé d'affaires''. The following year, though President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

was prepared to name him ambassador to Germany, he left government service and returned to the United States. Harvard awarded him an honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1922 in recognition of his diplomatic service. Dresel suffered from heart problems even while in the diplomatic service. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on September 19, 1925, in Pride's Crossing, Massachusetts. He was buried in Beverly Central Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Legacy

He never married. He belonged to the Episcopal Church. Years later, a group of Harvard graduates established a fund in his honor. Dresel's papers are preserved in the

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library system of Harvard's Faculty of ...

, including correspondence with William Richards Castle, Joseph Clark Grew,

Hugh S. Gibson Hugh Simons Gibson (August 16, 1883 – December 12, 1954) was an American diplomat. He was actively involved in disarmament talks from 1925 to 1932. Throughout his career, he remained a leading proponent in the drive to establish a professional F ...

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 November 9, 1924) was an American Republican politician, historian, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1924 and is best known for his positions on foreign policy. ...

, and

Allen Welsh Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles (, ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and its longest-serving director to date. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he ...

.Dresel, Ellis Loring,1865-1925. Papers: Guide

Harvard University Library Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection ...

References

External links

U.S. Peace Treaty with Germany
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresel, Ellis Loring 1865 births 1925 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Germany Harvard Law School alumni Harvard College alumni American people of German descent 20th-century American diplomats