Lawyer and Diplomat. He graduated from Harvard College in 1852 and Harvard Law School in 1854, afterwards becoming an attorney in New York City. In 1860 he became a partner in Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, which included US Senator, Secretary of State, and Attorney General William M. Evarts as senior partner. Choate was involved in most of the famous trials of the late 1800s, including Fong Yue Ting v. US, usually referred to as the Chinese Exclusion Case, and Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust, often called the Income Tax Suit. He was a member of New York City's Committee of Seventy, a reform group that was instrumental in breaking up the Tweed Ring. In the retrial of General Fitz-John Porter, who had been court-martialed after the Second Battle of Bull Run, Choate obtained a reversal of the original conviction. In 1894 he was President of New York's Constitutional Convention. In 1899 Choate was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he served until 1905 and was credited with negotiating the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty that enabled the US to build the Panama Canal. He also assisted in gaining US access to trade with China and helped resolve a UK-Germany dispute over possesion of Samoa. In 1907 he was one of the US Delegates to the Second Peace Congress held at the Hague. Involved in numerous charities and civic causes, Choate was a member of the committee that established the Metropolitan Museum of Art and an incorporator of the Museum of Natural History. He was a famed public speaker, and several of his orations were published as books and pamphlets, including 1903's "The Choate Story Book". Naumkeag, his country house in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, was designed by Stanford White and is now a nonprofit museum.
Lawyer and Diplomat. He graduated from Harvard College in 1852 and Harvard Law School in 1854, afterwards becoming an attorney in New York City. In 1860 he became a partner in Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, which included US Senator, Secretary of State, and Attorney General William M. Evarts as senior partner. Choate was involved in most of the famous trials of the late 1800s, including Fong Yue Ting v. US, usually referred to as the Chinese Exclusion Case, and Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust, often called the Income Tax Suit. He was a member of New York City's Committee of Seventy, a reform group that was instrumental in breaking up the Tweed Ring. In the retrial of General Fitz-John Porter, who had been court-martialed after the Second Battle of Bull Run, Choate obtained a reversal of the original conviction. In 1894 he was President of New York's Constitutional Convention. In 1899 Choate was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he served until 1905 and was credited with negotiating the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty that enabled the US to build the Panama Canal. He also assisted in gaining US access to trade with China and helped resolve a UK-Germany dispute over possesion of Samoa. In 1907 he was one of the US Delegates to the Second Peace Congress held at the Hague. Involved in numerous charities and civic causes, Choate was a member of the committee that established the Metropolitan Museum of Art and an incorporator of the Museum of Natural History. He was a famed public speaker, and several of his orations were published as books and pamphlets, including 1903's "The Choate Story Book". Naumkeag, his country house in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, was designed by Stanford White and is now a nonprofit museum.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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