Benjamin Moran (b. Franklin County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, 1820 – d. Braintree, Essex, on 20 June 1886) was an American diplomat who worked at the United States Legation (later the US Embassy) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1853 to 1874. Moran first visited

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1851. In 1853, around the time that

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

, who was from the same county in Pennsylvania as Moran, became US ambassador in London, Moran returned to England, becoming a temporary clerk at the legation. In 1854, he gained a permanent post and, in 1857, he was appointed Assistant Secretary, a post he kept until 1864, when he was promoted to Secretary, serving until 1875.Parker, Franklin; Parker, Betty J.: The Forgotten George Peabody (1795-1869), A Handbook A-Z of the Massachusetts-Born Merchant, London-Based Banker, & Philanthropist: His Life, Influence, and Related People,Places, Events, & Institutions., 1995, p. 4
pdf file
30.5 MB From 1857, he kept a private diary which was subsequently published; the diary is of interest mainly because it documents how the US Civil War was seen in the UK. Buchanan was elected president and George M. Dallas became Ambassador in London, where Moran stayed. From the end of 1858, Moran was co-owner of the London-based ''

Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * '' The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...

'' magazine, which he used to promote Buchanan's views against a generally hostile, anti-slavery British press. His co-owner was John McHenry, an American businessman who was also based in London, and they arranged the purchase through a nominee,

Thornton Leigh Hunt Thornton Leigh Hunt (10 September 1810 – 25 June 1873) was the first editor of the British daily broadsheet newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph''. Early life Hunt was the son of the writer Leigh Hunt and his wife Marianne, ''née'' Kent. As a ...

, to disguise their connection. They dramatically altered the tone of the magazine, its circulation declined substantially and there were several occasions when Moran had to pump additional funds into the venture. Having paid £4200 for it, they sold for £2000 in January 1861, by which time

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

had taken over from the vacillating Buchanan. In 1875, he was made Minister Resident to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and, since this was the first instance of this kind of promotion in US diplomatic history, some regard him as the first American career diplomat. When the office of Minister Resident was discontinued in 1876, Moran was made Chargé d'Affaires at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, serving until 1882 when ill health forced him to resign and return to England. He never went back to the US, settling, instead, at Braintree in Essex, where he died at nearby Bocking Hall.Bennett , John
Benjamin Moran's journal
acwrt.org.uk (The American Civil War Round Table (UK)), 24 December 2011, first published in: "Crossfire", the magazine of the ACWRT (UK) no. 57 - August 1998)

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Benjamin 1820 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American diplomats People from Franklin County, Pennsylvania Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal 19th-century American diarists

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