Charles MacVeagh (June 6, 1860 – December 4, 1931) was an American lawyer and diplomat. "Charles M'Veagh Dies in California,"
''New York Times,'' December 5, 1931. He served as

United States Ambassador to Japan The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period between th ...

from 1925 to 1928. US Department of State, Office of the HistorianCharles McVeagh, 1860-1931
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Early life

Charles MacVeagh was born in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the ...

on June 6, 1860. He was the son of

Wayne MacVeagh Isaac Wayne MacVeagh (April 19, 1833January 11, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as the 36th Attorney General of the United States under the administrations of Presidents James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur ...

, who was

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

in the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

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

. Undergraduate study at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

led to an AB degree in 1881. He earned a law degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1883; and he was admitted to the

New York State Bar The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

Career

MacVeagh was general solicitor and assistant general counsel of the

United States Steel Corporation United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

from 1901-1925. President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

named him Ambassador to Japan. He was commissioned Ambassador Extraordinary and

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

on September 24, 1925 during a recess of the Senate. He was recommissioned after his confirmation by the Senate on December 17, 1925. Ambassador MacVeagh presented his credentials to the Japanese government on December 9, 1925 and served until December 6, 1928. After his return from Tokyo, he returned to the law in the firm of

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, better known as Davis Polk is a white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City with 980 attorneys worldwide and offices in Washington, D.C., Northern California, London, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Be ...

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 U ...

. Charles MacVeagh was the father of

Lincoln MacVeagh Lincoln MacVeagh (October 1, 1890January 15, 1972) was a United States soldier, diplomat, businessman, and archaeologist. He served a long career as the United States ambassador to several countries during difficult times. MacVeagh family The ...

, who served as United States ambassador to several nations under Presidents

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president *Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

and Truman. MacVeagh was interested in his (and his wife's)

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

heritage. In the 1910s he built an extensive summer estate called Fasnacloich (named after a Scottish manor originally in his wife's family) in

Harrisville, New Hampshire Harrisville is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. Besides the town center, it also includes the villages of Chesham and Eastview. The population of the town was 984 at the 2020 census. Harrisville is a unique, preserved 1 ...

, not far from his brother Franklin's Knollwood estate. The estate, now listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

, is an homage to English and Scottish medieval houses, featuring terraced gardens and imported Italian fountains. The MacVeaghs entertained literary, artistic, and political figures there. He died on December 4, 1931, in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coa ...

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macveagh, Charles 1860 births 1931 deaths People from West Chester, Pennsylvania Columbia Law School alumni Harvard University alumni New York (state) lawyers United States Department of State officials Ambassadors of the United States to Japan Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers 20th-century American diplomats