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John Meredith Read Jr. (February 21, 1837 – December 27, 1896) was a United States diplomat and author.


Early life

Read was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania on February 21, 1837. He was one of five children born to Priscilla (née Marshall) Read and John Meredith Read, Sr., a prominent Philadelphia jurist who served as
Attorney General of Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is Democrat Josh Shapiro. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General Kat ...
. After his mother's death in 1841, his father married Amelia Thompson in 1855. His paternal grandfather was lawyer and banker John Read. His paternal great-grandfather George Read, a
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
from Delaware who was one of two statesmen who signed the original
Petition to the King The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for repeal of the Intolerable Acts. Political background Following the end of the French and Indian War (the North American t ...
of the Congress of 1774, the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of ...
, and the
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
. Read graduated from
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...
in 1859 and studied international law in Europe before admission to the bar in Philadelphia. He later graduated from Brown University, where he received the degree of A.M. in 1866. While at Brown, he joined the fraternity Alpha Delta Phi.


Career

After becoming an attorney, Read moved to
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...
and became the
Adjutant General of New York The Adjutant General of New York is the highest-ranking military official in the New York National Guard as the state adjutant general. The adjutant general is part of the state government's executive branch, and serves as head of the New Yor ...
in 1861. He was one of the originators of the "Wide-Awake" political clubs in 1860. In April 1860, he was chairman of the committee of three to draft a bill on behalf of New York, appropriating $300,000 to purchase of arms and equipment for the Civil War. Later, the War Department thanked him for his ability and zeal in organizing, equipping, and forwarding troops. He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
in 1867.


Consul General for France and Germany

Read was the first U. S.
consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
for France and
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...
from 1869 to 1873 and from 1870 to 1872. He served as acting consul general for Germany during the Franco-Prussian War. His work representing German interests in Paris lasted several months after U.S. Minister to France,
Elihu Washburne Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816 – October 22, 1887) was an American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party, he served ...
, stopped being the official representative of the German government in June 1871. After the war, he was appointed by the
French Minister of War The Minister of the Armed Forces (french: Ministre des armées, ) is the leader and most senior official of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, tasked with running the French Armed Forces. The minister is the third highest civilian having a ...
, General
Ernest Courtot de Cissey Ernest Louis Octave Courtot de Cissey (; 1810–1882) was a French general and Prime Minister. de Cissey was born in Paris, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and, after passing through St Cyr, entered the army in 1832, becoming capt ...
, to form and preside over a commission to examine into the desirability of teaching the English language to the French troops.


U.S. Minister to Greece

In November 1873, he was appointed U.S. Minister Resident in Greece. One of his first acts was to secure the release of the American ship ''Armenia'' and to obtain from the Greek government revocation of the order that prohibited the sale of the Bible in Greece. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he discovered that only one port in Russia was still open, and he pointed out to Secretary of State
William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a litiga ...
the advantages that would accrue to the commerce of the United States were a grain fleet dispatched from New York City to that port. The event justified his judgment since the exports of cereals from the United States increased within a year to $73,000,000. While
Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassado ...
, he received the thanks of the U.S. Government for his effectual protection of persons and interests of the United States in the dangerous crisis of 1878. Soon afterward the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
, from motives of economy, refused the appropriation for the legation at Athens, and Read, believing that the time was too critical to withdraw the mission, carried it on at his individual expense until his resignation on September 23, 1879. In 1886 after his resignation, the territory that had been adjudged to Greece had been finally transferred,
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
George I of Greece George I (Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
created him a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
, the highest dignity in the gift of the Greek government. After 1881, he continued residing in Paris.


Writer

Read was president of the social science congress at Albany in 1868, and vice president of the one at
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...
, England, in 1872. He wrote ''Historical Enquiry concerning Henry Hudson'', which discussed Hudson's origins, and the sources of the ideas that guided that navigator (Albany, 1866). ''Historic Studies in Vaud, Berne, and Savoy; from Roman Times to Voltaire, Rousseau and Gibbon'' was published in 1897. He also made contributions to current literature, including ''
Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography ''Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography'' is a six-volume collection of biographies of notable people involved in the history of the New World. Published between 1887 and 1889, its unsigned articles were widely accepted as authoritative f ...
'', published in 1892.


Personal life

On April 7, 1859, Read was married to Delphine Marie Pumpelly (1833–1902). Her father was Harmon Pumpelly, president of the
Albany Savings Bank Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: *Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name *Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer to: ...
, the Albany Insurance Company, and the Albany Gaslight Company. Her mother was a Delphine Drake Pumpelly, daughter of
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
John R. Drake of
Owego, New York Owego is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 18,728 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the Iroquois word ''Ahwaga'', meaning "where the valley widens". Owego is in the southeastern corner of the coun ...
. Together, they were the parents of four children: * Harmon Pumpelly Read (1860–1925), a capitalist who married French-born Catherine Marguerite de Carron d'Allondons (1866–1940). * Emily Meredith Read (1863–1940), who married Francis Aquila Stout, a great-grandson of signer
Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
, in 1884. His sister, Sarah Morris Stout, was the wife of Baron Ancelis de
Vaugrigneuse Vaugrigneuse () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Vaugrigneuse are known as ''Valgrigniens''. See also *Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 commune ...
of the
French Embassy in Washington The Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., is the French diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 4101 Reservoir Road, Northwest, Washington, D.C., just north of Georgetown University. The embassy opened in 1984. With some 400 ...
. After his 1892 death, she married Edward Spencer, a descendant of one of the founders of Stockbridge, at the
American Cathedral in Paris The American Cathedral in Paris (french: Cathédrale Américaine de Paris), formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is one of the oldest English-speaking churches in Paris. It is the gathering church for the Convocation of Epi ...
in June 1894. * John Meredith Read III (b. 1869), who married Countess Alix de Foras, a daughter of Count Amédée de Foras, the Grand Marshal of the Court of Bulgaria, in 1901. * Marie Delphine Meredith Read (b. 1873), who married Count Maximilien de Foras of
Château de Thuyset A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...
,
Thonon-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains ...
,
Haute Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...
in 1895. Count Max was the brother of Countess Alix de Foras. In 1892, the Reads gave a dinner in honor of the departing U.S. Minister
Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-York Tribu ...
, at their home in Paris. After a severe attack of
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi ...
, Read died in Paris on December 27, 1896. He was buried at the Old Communal Cemetery at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint- ...
. His widow also died in Paris on May 29, 1902, and was buried in the same cemetery.


References


External links


Read family papers: 1792–1896
at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, John Meredith 1837 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American diplomats American non-fiction writers Brown University alumni Albany Law School alumni Adjutants General of New York (state) Ambassadors of the United States to Greece Writers from New York (state) 19th-century American lawyers