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American politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cyrus E. Woods (September 3, 1861 – December 8, 1938) was an American attorney, diplomat and politician.
Cyrus Woods | |
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Attorney General of Pennsylvania | |
In office March 1, 1929 – October 30, 1930 | |
Governor | John Stuchell Fisher |
Preceded by | Thomas Baldrige |
Succeeded by | William Schnader |
United States Ambassador to Japan | |
In office July 21, 1923 – June 5, 1924 | |
President | Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Charles Warren |
Succeeded by | Edgar Bancroft |
United States Ambassador to Spain | |
In office October 14, 1921 – April 18, 1923 | |
President | Warren G. Harding |
Preceded by | Joseph Willard |
Succeeded by | Alexander Moore |
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | |
In office January 20, 1915 – October 14, 1921 | |
Governor | Martin Brumbaugh William Sproul |
Preceded by | Robert McAfee |
Succeeded by | Bernard Myers |
United States Envoy to Portugal | |
In office March 20, 1912 – August 19, 1913 | |
President | William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson |
Preceded by | Edwin Morgan |
Succeeded by | Meredith Nicholson |
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 39th district | |
In office January 1, 1901 – May 16, 1907 | |
Preceded by | John Brown |
Succeeded by | John Jamison |
Personal details | |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | September 3, 1861
Died | December 8, 1938 77) Clearfield, Pennsylvania | (aged
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Mary Todd Marchand |
Alma mater | Lafayette College University of Pennsylvania Law School |
Profession | Attorney, Politician, Diplomat |
He was born September 3, 1861, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, to Matthew Woods and Catheine/Katharine (Bella) Spice/Speece.[1] He attended Lafayette College.[2] He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a law degree in 1889. Woods practiced law in Philadelphia and then in Pittsburgh, where he became associated with the interests of the Mellon family. On January 18, 1893, Woods married the former Mary Todd Marchand,[3] a great-granddaughter of James Todd, former state Attorney General.
In 1900, Woods made his first bid for political office, successfully contesting the Westmoreland County-based 39th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate. He served in the Senate for two terms, from 1901 to 1907.[1][4]
Woods received his first diplomatic appointment in 1912, when President William Howard Taft named him the United States' Envoy to Portugal, with the official title of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, as the United States had not yet elevated the post to ambassador status.[1]
In 1915, Governor Martin Brumbaugh appointed him Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Woods would serve six years in the post, before resigning in 1921 to take-up the post of Ambassador to Spain.[1] In 1923, he moved to the post of Ambassador to Japan. During his time in Japan, he organized the American relief effort in response to the devastating 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, before resigning in 1924.
In 1929, Governor John Fisher, with whom Woods had served in the State Senate,[5] appointed him Pennsylvania Attorney General. Woods served in the post, his final political or diplomatic appointment, for eighteen months.[1]
Woods died December 8, 1938, in Philadelphia, where he had gone for medical treatment. After his death, his widow established a foundation which became the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.[6]
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