Alexander W. Weddell

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Alexander Wilbourne Weddell (born April 6, 1876 in Richmond , Virginia , † January 1, 1948 in Nevada ) was an American diplomat , local historian and author.

The pastor's son from an impoverished patrician family attended George Washington University and entered the diplomatic service. He was deployed to India, Mexico and Montreal, among others, and the southern democrat was only given an ambassadorial post late in 1933, through President Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1928 he quit his job for five years. On May 31, 1923, Weddell married the wealthy widow Virginia Chase Steedman. Together, the couple purchased and designed Virginia House , now a museum.

Weddell's career culminated in ambassadorial posts in Argentina (1933–1939) and Spain (1939–1942). He then devoted himself mainly to his literary and aesthetic inclinations and was President of the Virginia Historical Society from 1943 until his death.

Weddell was the author or editor of several books, including

  • A Memorial Volume of Virginia Historical Portraiture (1930)
  • Richmond, Virginia, in Old Prints (1932)
  • Introduction to Argentina (1939)
  • Portraiture in the Virginia Historical Society (1945)

Weddell, his wife, and the couple's British housemaid died on January 1, 1948 in a railroad accident en route to Arizona.

literature

  • Virginius Cornick Hall Jr., Portraits in the Collection of the Virginia Historical Society (1981), pp. 254-255. ISBN 0-8139-0813-2 .

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Robert Woods Bliss US envoy in Buenos Aires
September 18, 1933-29. October 1938 		Norman Armor
Claude Bowers US Ambassador to Madrid
June 15, 1939–7. February 1942 		Carlton JH Hayes
personal data
SURNAME Weddell, Alexander W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weddell, Alexander Wilbourne (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American diplomat, local historian, and author
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Richmond , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1948
Place of death Nevada