William Walter Phelps

William Walter Phelps (born August 24, 1839 in New York City , † June 17, 1894 in Englewood , New Jersey ) was an American diplomat and politician . Between 1873 and 1875 and from 1883 to 1889 he represented the state of New Jersey in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Phelps attended near Bridgeport ( Connecticut private schools). He then went to the Mount Washington Institute in New York. This was followed by studies at Yale College until 1860 . After a subsequent law degree at Columbia College and his admission to the bar in 1863, he worked in New York in this profession until 1868. In the following years he embarked on a successful career in banking and the railroad business. He was a director at several railway companies.

Politically, Phelps was a member of the Republican Party . In the congressional election of 1872 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fifth constituency of New Jersey , where he succeeded George A. Halsey on March 4, 1873 . Since he was defeated by the Democrat Augustus W. Cutler in 1874 , he was initially only able to complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1875 . In 1880 and 1884 he took part as a delegate at the respective Republican National Conventions .

Between 1881 and 1882 Phelps was the successor to John A. Kasson as the United States' ambassador to the Austro-Hungarian Empire . In the congressional elections of 1882 he was then re-elected to Congress in the fifth district of his state, where he replaced John Hill on March 4, 1883 . After two re-elections, he was able to spend three more terms in the US House of Representatives until March 3, 1889. In 1888 Phelps declined to run again. At that time he was also known as an art collector. However, most of the pieces in his collection were destroyed in a fire.

In 1889, his fellow party member, President Benjamin Harrison , made him an American delegate to the Samoa Conference in Berlin . Between 1889 and 1893 he was the successor of George H. Pendleton US ambassador to Germany . During this time, his previously troubled health deteriorated even more. After his return from Germany, he was appointed an appellate judge in New Jersey on June 20, 1893. Since February 1894 his health has deteriorated dramatically. In May he could not get out of bed. He died in Englewood on June 17, 1894.

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personal data
SURNAME	Phelps, William Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	August 24, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH	New York City
DATE OF DEATH	June 17, 1894
Place of death	Englewood , New Jersey