Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (November 4, 1872 – 1959) was an American diplomat.[1]
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He was born on November 4, 1872 in born at Riverton, New Jersey to Clement Griscom. He graduated in 1891 from the University of Pennsylvania and studied law there and then at the New York Law School. In 1893-1994 he was in England as secretary to Ambassador Thomas Bayard; in 1897 he was deputy district attorney of New York; and during the Spanish-American War he served as captain and assistant quartermaster.
After a short period as Secretary of Legation and chargé d' affaires at Constantinople, he became Minister to Persia in 1901. He held the corresponding post in Japan (1902–1906) and was ambassador to Brazil (1906–1907) and to Italy (1907–1909). In 1911 he became a member of the law firm of Beekman, Menken, and Griscom, New York City, and was thereafter active in local Republican politics. He contributed numerous articles to the Philadelphia Sunday Press on travel in Central America. In 1917 he was appointed a major in the department of the Adjutant-General of the United States army and afterwards became Assistant Adjutant-General.
Griscom's primary significance was as an advocate for globalized free trade as a means to promote peaceful development in accordance with his Quaker faith. In the Middle East he worked for better relations between Muslims and Christians, and he played a major role in the relief effort in Italy after the Messina earthquake took 50,000 lives. Prior to the death of Secretary of State John Hay in 1905, Griscom was offered the post of First Assistant Secretary of State. The appointement of Elihu Root to succeed Hay nullified Griscom's appointment to the State Department position.
Following his retirement from pulic service, he bought and became the publisher of several Long Island newspapers, including the East Norwich Enterprise, the North Hempstead Record, and the Nassau Daily Star.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Herbert W. Bowen |
United States Minister to Persia 1901–1902 |
Succeeded by Richmond Pearson |
| Preceded by Alfred Buck |
United States Minister to Japan June 22, 1903-November 19, 1905 |
Succeeded by Luke E. Wright |
| Preceded by David E. Thompson |
United States Ambassador to Brazil 6 June 1906–2 January 1907 |
Succeeded by Irving B. Dudley |
| Preceded by Henry White |
United States Ambassador to Italy March 17, 1907-June 14, 1909 |
Succeeded by John G. A. Leishman |