James Cabell Bruce

James Cabell Bruce (1892–1980), AKA James Bruce, was a 20th-Century American businessman and banker in New York City and Baltimore, who served as U.S. ambassador to Argentina in the 1930s during the New Deal.^[1][2]

Background

James Cabell Bruce was born on December 23, 1892 in Baltimore, Maryland, son of William Cabell Bruce (lawyer, author, U. S. Senator) and Louise Este Fisher and brother of David K. E. Bruce. He studied at the Gilman School in Baltimore. He studied at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1914 with a BA in literature. In 1918, Bruce received a law degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.^[1]

Career

Military (WWI)

In 1915, Bruce trained with the U.S. Army at Plattsburgh, New York. In 1916, he worked in Rome as secretary to U. S. Ambassador to Italy (and uncle) Thomas Nelson Page. In 1917, he enlisted in the U. S. Army. He served in France and Germany, then took time off to complete his law degree. In 1919, he served as a military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. From there, he traveled to the Balkans to investigate Albania and Montenegro for the Paris Peace Conference.^[1]

Business: banking

In 1919, Bruce worked for the Mercantile Trust Bank of Baltimore and for the Atlantic Trust Company. In 1926, Bruce moved to New York, where he worked for banks including Chase National. In 1931, he moved back to Baltimore as president of the Baltimore Trust Company.^[1]

Government: Homeowners Loan Corporation

In 1933, he became financial advisor to the Homeowners Loan Corporation in Washington, DC.^[1]

Business: commerce

In 1934, he became vice president of the National Dairy Products Corporation.^[1]

He also became a director of several large business, including: American Airlines, the Maryland Casualty Company, Republic Steel, the American Shipbuilding Company, and Loew's Theatres.^[1]

Government: ambassador to Argentina

In 1947, Bruce became U.S. ambassador to Argentina. He returned to the U.S. to campaign for President Truman. In 1949, Bruce resigned so he could become U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. However, Truman withdrew his offer, since brother David Bruce was already in line as U.S. ambassador to France. Instead, he became director of the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, a forerunner of NATO.^[1]

While ambassador, Bruce received a letter from attorney William L. Marbury, Jr., dated December 28, 1948. In the letter, Marbury states, "there have been new developments in this case which would put to shame any respectable author of a detective story." The letter formed part of correspondence: "this case" refers to the case of Alger Hiss (Marbury's client).^[3]).

Business

In 1950, Bruce returned to business. His 1958 bid for United States Senate failed.^[1]

Personal and death

On May 24, 1919, Bruce married Ellen McHenry Keyser. They had two daughters: Ellen (1920) and Louise (1924).^[1]

He died on July 17, 1980, in New York City; his wife had preceded him on February 5, 1980.^[1]

Works

• College Journalism with James Forrestal (1914)^[4]
• Those Perplexing Argentines (New York: Longmans, Green, 1953)^[5]
• Memoirs (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2004)^[2]

See also

• United States Ambassador to Argentina
• William Cabell Bruce
• David K. E. Bruce

References