Lucius Harwood Foote (April 10, 1826 – June 4, 1913) was the first American minister to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and served from 1883 to 1885.

Early life

Lucius Foote was born April 10, 1826, in Winfield, New York to Rev. Lucius Foote and Electa Harwood. He married in 1862 to Rose Frost Carter (d. 1885).

Pre-Korea years

Lucius Foote was the Adjutant General of the

California National Guard The California National Guard (Cal Guard) is part of the National Guard (United States), National Guard of the United States, a dual federal–state military reserve force in the state of California. It has three components: the California Army ...

, from December 21, 1871 – December 13, 1875.

U.S. ambassador to Korea

In May 1882, Korea and the United States signed a treaty of commerce, in Chemulpo Port (modern day

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

). This treaty required an American political presence in Korea. Foote was assigned a year later, with the title, "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary". However, due to low trade volumes, in July 1884, Foote was demoted to the position of "Minister Resident". In August 1884, he purchased a

hanok A (; name in South Korea) or ''chosŏnjip'' (; name in North Korea and for Koreans in Yanbian, China), is a traditional Korean house. were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. Korean architecture conside ...

-style house from the Min family and thus established the

American Legation The Tangier American Legation (; ), officially the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIMS), is a building in the Medina quarter, ''medina'' of Tangier, Morocco, that formerly Chancery (diplomacy), housed the United State ...

. He shared the building with

Horace Newton Allen Horace Newton Allen (April 23, 1858 – December 11, 1932) was an American diplomat, missionary and physician who was American ambassador to Korea from 1897 to 1905. Along with Robert Samuel Maclay, Allen was one of the first Western Protestant ...

. When Lucius Foote resigned and left

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, in January 1885, George Clayton Foulk replaced him. File:Rosefooteinpalanquin-aug1907newspaper.jpg, Rose, the spouse of Lucius Foote, in a

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

in Korea

Later years

Lucius Foote retired to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California. He died there on June 4, 1913.

References

External links

Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Lucius Harwood 1826 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Korea People from Herkimer County, New York