Myron Timothy Herrick (October 9, 1854March 31, 1929) was an American banker, diplomat and Republican politician from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served as the 42nd

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and

United States Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations w ...

on two occasions.

Biography

Herrick was born in Huntington, Lorain County, Ohio, the son of Mary (Hulburt) Herrick and Colonel Timothy Robinson Herrick, a local farmer and businessman. He studied at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

, but graduated from neither. He married Caroline Marina Parmely of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, on June 30, 1880. They had one son, Parmely Webb Herrick (1881–1937).

Career

Admitted to practice law in Cleveland in 1878, Herrick joined the bank Society for Savings as secretary and treasurer in 1886, and became the bank's president in 1894. From 1885 to 1888, Herrick was a member of the Cleveland City Council. In 1886, in Cleveland, he helped to finance the founding of The

National Carbon Company The National Carbon Company was a dominant American manufacturer of batteries and lighting products in the early 20th century. It was the first company to successfully manufacture and distribute sealed dry cell batteries on a large scale. It was fo ...

, along with W. H. Lawrence, James Parmelee, and James Webb Cook Hayes, son of U.S. President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

.Eveready Battery Company Records Collection at Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
/ref> This company, a predecessor of

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

Energizer Energizer Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of batteries, headquartered in Clayton, Missouri. It produces batteries under the Energizer, Ray-O-Vac, Varta, and Eveready brand names and fo ...

, and Eveready, would come to figure prominently in the history of the consumer battery and the

flashlight A flashlight (US English) or electric torch (Commonwealth English), usually shortened to torch, is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced ...

. Herrick was a

Presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in 1892 for Harrison/ Reid. While governor-elect in 1902, Herrick gave $20,000 to the village of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, Ohio, to build the library now known as the Herrick Memorial Library. Herrick later bequeathed $70,000 for an addition. Herrick served as the governor of Ohio from 1904 to 1906; (future

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

)

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

served as his

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. He had been a protégé of political boss

Mark Hanna Marcus Alonzo Hanna (September 24, 1837 – February 15, 1904) was an American businessman and Republican politician who served as a United States Senator from Ohio as well as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A friend and ...

, but in 1906 was defeated by the efforts of Wayne Wheeler and the

Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League, now known as the American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems, is an organization of the temperance movement in the United States. Founded in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio, it was a key component of the Progressive Era, an ...

after he refused to support their plan for the prohibition of alcohol in Ohio. Herrick contributed to French-American amity before and during World War I. He was

from 1912 to 1914 and again from 1921 to 1929. He is the only American ambassador to France with a street named after him in Paris, in the 8th arrondissement. As ambassador, Herrick hosted

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

in Paris after his successful New York-to-Paris Atlantic crossing in 1927. TimeMagazine30Jan1928

Upon his return to the United States in 1914, Herrick's prominent role in helping Americans stranded by the outbreak of World War I led to discussion within the Republican Party of Herrick as a possible nominee in the upcoming 1916 presidential election. Herrick believed that his business background would prove a liability, and when his candidacy failed to gain traction, he tried and failed to defeat incumbent Democratic

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Atlee Pomerene Atlee Pomerene (December 6, 1863 – November 12, 1937) was an American Democratic Party politician and lawyer from Ohio. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio for a few months in 1911 and then represented Ohio in the United States Senate from ...

in 1916.

Death

Herrick was serving as United States Ambassador to France at the time of his death on March 31, 1929. He died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Cleveland, Ohio.

References

External links

National Governors Association

Ambassador Herrick
right, with

and

Louis Bleriot Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

; May 1927
Myron T. Herrick Residence
formerly in

Cleveland Heights Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a Village (United States), village in ...

, Ohio, was demolished in 1969. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrick, Myron T. 1854 births 1929 deaths Republican Party governors of Ohio Ambassadors of the United States to France Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Ohio University trustees 1892 United States presidential electors Oberlin College alumni Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Cleveland City Council members Trust Company of America people 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century Ohio politicians

Biography

Career

Death

References

Further reading

External links