William Cameron Forbes

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William Cameron Forbes

William Cameron Forbes (born May 21, 1870 in Milton , Massachusetts , † December 24, 1959 ) was an American diplomat, writer, investment banker and Governor General of the Philippines .

Family and early career activities

Forbes, who belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Boston , was the maternal grandson of American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and joined his paternal grandfather's trading house in Boston in 1892 after graduating from Harvard University . There he became a partner in 1899.

Activities in the Philippines

In 1904 he was appointed to the Philippine Commission by US President Theodore Roosevelt , in which he held several administrative positions in the following years. First he was government secretary for trade and police and then vice governor , before he was on November 11, 1909 as the successor to James Francis Smith was governor general of the Philippines. He held this office until his replacement by Newton W. Gilbert on September 1, 1913.

In his honor the Forbes Park in Makati / Manila was named, in the vicinity of which the wealthiest Filipinos now live. During his tenure, he campaigned for the expansion of transport links and motorization (especially to Baguio in the north of the main island of Luzon ). In Baguio he created “The Mansion House”, a summer residence that was modeled on that of his family. During his tenure, Baguio became the “summer capital” of the Philippines, as the climate in Baguio, which is 1,500 meters above sea level, was much milder than in Manila. This property also served the later presidents of the Philippines, especially Ferdinand Marcos, as a summer residence.

In addition, Forbes, who was president of the "Philippine Amateur Athletes Association" from 1911 to 1913, initiated the Asian Games , which took place in the Philippines for the first time in 1913 and have since practically been the East Asian Olympic Games .

In 1921 he returned to the Philippines as a member of the " Wood -Forbes Commission" appointed by US President Warren G. Harding .

Scientific activities

From 1914 to 1920 Forbes worked as an overseer ("Overseer") at Harvard University , from which he had already received in 1912 a "Doctor honoris causa". He was then one of the Trustees and Curators of the Carnegie Institution from 1920 to 1955 . In 1927 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Diplomatic activities

In 1930 he became chairman of a commission to assess the situation in Haiti . On September 25 of the same year he became the United States Ambassador to Japan . After his return from Japan on March 22, 1932, he received his doctorate as a 'Doctor of Laws' (LL.D.) at Bates College. In 1935 he was head of a business delegation in East Asia .

Publications

  • As to Polo , 1919.
  • The Romance of Business , 1921.
  • A Survey of Developments in the Philippine Movement for Independence , 1932-1936.
  • Fuddlehead by Fuddlehead , 1935. (autobiography)
  • American Policies in the Far East , 1939.

The manuscripts and written papers have been in the Houghton Library at Harvard since 2009 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Houghton Library (Ed .: [Manuscript Acquisitions, 2008-2009] ).
personal data
SURNAME Forbes, William Cameron
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, diplomat, writer, and investment banker
DATE OF BIRTH May 21, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Milton , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 1959