John Bigelow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Bigelow | |
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| Born | November 25, 1817 Malden-on-Hudson, New York, USA |
| Died | December 19, 1911 |
John Bigelow (November 25, 1817 – December 19, 1911) was an American lawyer and statesman.
Born in Malden-on-Hudson, New York, he became a lawyer and editor, co-owning and editing the New York Evening Post. Abraham Lincoln appointed him Consul at Paris in 1861, progressing to Charge d'Affaires to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Napoleon III. In 1865 he became Minister to France and helped block the Confederacy's efforts to acquire ships in Europe. He published The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and helped expose the graft of the Tweed administration in New York City. After three years living in Germany, he returned to New York, where he was elected Secretary of State. He was instrumental in the development of the New York Public Library, and a staunch proponent of the development of the Panama Canal. He was a friend of Philippe Bunau Varilla, who brought Panama's declaration of Independence to John's home: Panama's first proposed flag was made in the Bigelow home by Mrs. Bunau Varilla, but was immediately rejected by the Panamanians, who made their own.
On June 11, 1850, he married Jane Tunis Poultney: their son Poultney Bigelow was a lawyer, and a noted journalist and editor.
On August 8, 2001, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed a bill adding the name "John Bigelow Plaza" to the intersection of 41st Street and Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, directly in front of the famous main branch of the New York Public Library.
