Sir Michael Henry Herbert, (25 June 1857 – 30 September 1903), was a British diplomat and ambassador.

Early life

Sir Michael Herbert was the fourth and youngest son of distinguished parents:

Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (16 September 1810 – 2 August 1861) was a British Politician, statesman and a close ally and confidant of Florence Nightingale. Early life He was the younger son of ...

, the British statesman, and

Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea Mary Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea ( Ashe à Court-Repington; 21 July 1822 – 30 October 1911), known simply as Elizabeth Herbert, was an English Roman Catholic writer, translator, philanthropist, and influential social figure. L ...

, philanthropist and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

writer and apologist.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', 107th edition His father, Sidney, was himself the younger son of

George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, by the Russian noblewoman Countess Catherine

Vorontsov The House of Vorontsov (), also Woroncow and de Woroncow-Wojtkowicz, is the name of a Russian noble family whose members attained the dignity of Counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and became Princes of the Russian Empire on 6 April 1845 ...

, daughter of

Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...

. In due course, two of Herbert's brothers ( George, the 13th Earl and Sidney, the 14th Earl) succeeded to the

earldom of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

, his half-uncle

Robert Herbert, 12th Earl of Pembroke Robert Henry Herbert, 12th Earl of Pembroke and 9th Earl of Montgomery (19 September 1791 – 25 April 1862) was a British nobleman and peer. He was in line for great estates and position as head of the distinguished Herbert family and heir to ...

having died without legitimate issue in Paris on 25 April 1862. Herbert was granted the style and precedence of the younger son of an earl by Royal Warrant on 30 May. Herbert was brought up at the family house at

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

Career

Herbert joined the Diplomatic Service, and was posted to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, aged 21, on 1 June 1879, where he was appointed Third Secretary in March 1880, and Second Secretary in November 1883. Herbert was trained in the diplomatic service by

Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, 1st Earl Lyons (26 April 1817 – 5 December 1887) was a British diplomat, who was the favourite diplomat of Queen Victoria, during the four great crises of the second half of the 19th century: Italian unificat ...

, then British Ambassador to France, and was a member of the

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

-sympathetic 'Lyons School' of British diplomacy. Herbert was transferred to

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

on 31 August 1888, where he served as Secretary and twice acted as

Chargé d'affaires A (), 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 ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

. In September 1893, he transferred to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and in August the following year was promoted to Secretary of Embassy at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1896. Following a brief posting to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1897, he was appointed

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 ...

in 1898.

British ambassador to the United States

Herbert ended his career as the second British

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the United States, in succession to Lord Pauncefote, who had died in office in May 1902. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and received the knighthood in a private audience with King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

on board HMY ''Victoria and Albert'' on 2 August 1902. He was sworn a member of the Privy Council at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 11 August 1902, before leaving Liverpool for

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in late September. As ambassador, he created with the U.S. Secretary of State

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

a joint commission to establish the border between the U.S. district of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and British interests in the Dominion of Canada, where gold had been found in the 1890s, which resulted in the definitive Alaskan boundary treaty of 1903. He was also involved during the

Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903 Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of , and its popula ...

Personal life

On 27 November 1888, Herbert married Leila "Belle" Wilson (1864–1923), the second daughter of Richard Thornton Wilson, a banker and cotton broker from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. All of the Wilson children married advantageously, namely

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, who married New York landowner

Ogden Goelet Ogden Goelet (June 11, 1851 New York City – August 27, 1897 Cowes, Isle of Wight) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. With his wife, he built Ochre Court in Newport, Rhode Island, his so ...

(they were the parents of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe); and

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

, who married

Cornelius Vanderbilt III Brigadier General Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III (September 5, 1873 – March 1, 1942) was an American military officer, inventor, engineer, and yachtsman. He was a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life Born in New York City to Corneliu ...

; Orme, who married a daughter of Mrs. William Astor, "the" Mrs. Astor.Cornelius Vanderbilt, IV, ''Queen of the Golden Age'' (McGraw-Hill, 1953) Together, Herbert and his wife had two sons: #

Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Baronet Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Baronet (29 July 1890 – 22 March 1939) was a British Conservative politician. From 1919 to 1920, he was Private Secretary to Winston Churchill when he was Secretary of State for War, and served as a Member of Parliament ...

, MP (1890–1939), who died unmarried at which point the baronetcy expired. #Lieutenant Michael George Herbert (1893–1932), who died unmarried. He died of tuberculosis on 30 September 1903 in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

, Switzerland, aged 47.

Honors and legacy

The town of

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada, is named after him. Mount Herbert, also known as ''Boundary Peak 172'' on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, was named after him in 1923.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Michael 1857 births 1904 deaths Michael Henry Herbert Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British people of Russian descent Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Younger sons of barons Wilson family (New York)