Wayne MacVeagh
| Isaac Wayne MacVeagh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 36th United States Attorney General | |
| In office March 5, 1881 – December 15, 1881 | |
| President | James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur |
| Preceded by | Charles Devens |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin H. Brewster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 19, 1833 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 11, 1917 (aged 83) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican, Democrat |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Militia Union Army |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Isaac Wayne MacVeagh (April 19, 1833 – January 11, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and the 36th Attorney General of the United States.[1]
Biography
Born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, he attended Yale University, where he was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter), and graduated 10th in his class in 1853. He was admitted to the bar in 1856 and was District Attorney of Chester County, Pennsylvania, from 1859 through 1864.[1]
He led militia forces organized to battle back threatened Confederate invaders in 1862 and 1863 and served in the Union army during the American Civil War as an infantry captain and as a major in the cavalry.[1]
He became a leader in the Republican party, and was a prominent opponent of his father-in-law, Simon Cameron, in the fight within the party in 1871.[1]
MacVeagh was U.S. Ambassador to The Ottoman Empire in 1870 through 1871, and was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1872 and 1873. In 1875, he co-founded the Philadelphia-based law firm known today as Dechert LLP.[2] He also served as chairman of the MacVeagh Commission, sent in 1877 by President Rutherford B. Hayes to Louisiana, which secured the settlement of the contest between the two existing state governments and thus made possible the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the state.
MacVeagh was the 36th Attorney General of the United States in 1881 under President James A. Garfield, but resigned shortly after Garfield's death. In 1892 he supported Grover Cleveland, the Democratic nominee for the presidency, and from 1893 to 1897 was U.S. Ambassador to Italy. He returned to the Republican party in 1896. In 1903 he was chief counsel of the United States before the Hague tribunal in the case regarding the claims of Germany, Britain and Italy against the republic of Venezuela.
His brother Franklin MacVeagh was a U.S. Treasury Secretary.
See also
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wayne MacVeagh. |
- The MacVeagh Family Papers, including papers, notes, newspaper clippings and correspondence spanning much of Wayne MacVeagh's life, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edward Joy Morris |
United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire October 25, 1870 – June 10, 1871 |
Succeeded by George H. Boker |
| Preceded by William Potter |
United States Ambassador to Italy March 11, 1894 – March 4, 1897 |
Succeeded by William F. Draper |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Charles Devens |
U.S. Attorney General Served under: James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur March 5, 1881 – December 15, 1881 |
Succeeded by Benjamin H. Brewster |
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