George Robert Merrell Jr. (July 13, 1898 – December 16, 1962) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia and

United States Ambassador to Afghanistan The United States ambassador to Afghanistan is the official diplomatic representative of the United States to Afghanistan. In the wake of the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban, the Embassy of the United States, Kabul, U.S. embassy in Kabul transf ...

. During his diplomatic career he served in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Early life

George Robert Merrell Jr. was born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, on July 13, 1898. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He graduated from

Soldan High School Soldan International Studies High School (also known as Soldan High School) is a public magnet high school in the Academy neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, that is part of St. Louis Public Schools. Soldan was known for its wea ...

and graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1921. On January 18, 1936, Merrell married Nathalie Bishop Choate, but Choate later filed for divorce in 1939. She accused Merrell of cruelty and was given the divorce after an eight minute trial.

Career

In 1921, Merrell became a diplomat for the United States. From March 1924 to October 26, he served as the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim to

. In April 1935, Merrell became the First Secretary of the United States Legation in

Peiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

. On April 26, 1941, Merrell was appointed to serve as the Consul in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. On September 20, he was promoted to consul general and October 25, he was appointed to simultaneously serve as the Consul General in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. In 1945, Merrell was appointed by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

to serve as the United States Minister to India and was approved by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on February 27. On April 15, 1947, President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

appointed Merrell to replace Felix Cole as the

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

. Henry F. Grady was appointed to succeed Merrell as the United States Ambassador to India. On May 14, the United States Senate approved his nomination and he presented his credentials on January 1, 1948. On June 28, 1949, he was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and served until March 17, 1951. On April 19, 1951, he was appointed to serve as the

. He presented his credentials on June 28, 1951, and served until May 3, 1952.

Later life

On December 16, 1962, Merrell died from after suffering a stroke 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 ...

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

. He was visiting his sister Ruth, who was an assistant to

David K. E. Bruce David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (February 12, 1898 – December 5, 1977) was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician. He served as ambassador to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, the only American t ...

, the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, formally the ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's is the official representative of the president of the United States and the Federal government of the United ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrell, George R. Cornell University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti Ambassadors of the United States to India Ambassadors of the United States to Ethiopia Ambassadors of the United States to Afghanistan Consuls for the United States 20th-century American diplomats