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George von Lengerke Meyer

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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"GEORGE VON LENGERKE MEYER (1858-1918), American diplomatist, was born in Boston, Mass., June 24 1858. After graduating from Harvard in 1879 he was engaged in business for 20 years. He entered public life in 1889 as a member of the Boston Common Council and two years later became a member of the Board of Aldermen. From 1892 to 1897 he was a member of the Mass. House of Representatives, being speaker for the last three years. In 1898 he was appointed by Governor Wolcott as chairman of the Mass. Paris Exposition Managers. From 1900 to 1904 he was a member of the Republican National Committee. In 1900 he was appointed ambassador to Italy by President McKinley, and five years later was transferred by President Roosevelt to Russia. In 1907 he was recalled by Roosevelt and made Postmaster-General in his Cabinet. From 1909 to 1913 he was Secretary of the Navy in President Taft's Cabinet. On the outbreak of the World War he urged preparedness and criticised America's naval administration. He was actively associated with the National Security League and the Navy League. He was a director in many organizations, including the Amoskeag Manufacturing Co., Old Colony Trust Co., Puget Sound Light & Power Co., Walter Baker Co., and Ames Plow Co. He died in Boston March 9 1918.

See M. A. De Wolfe Howe, George von Lengerke Meyer: His Life and Services (1920).