James Bowdoin III

James Bowdoin III
Born	(1752-09-22)September 22, 1752 Boston,Province of Massachusetts Bay,British America
Died	October 11, 1811(1811-10-11)(aged 59) Gosnold,Massachusetts,U.S.
Education	Harvard College
Known for	Assistance in creatingBowdoin College
Spouse	Sarah Dearborn

James Bowdoin III(September 22, 1752 – October 11, 1811) was an American philanthropist and statesman fromBoston, Massachusetts.He has born toJames Bowdoinin Boston, and graduated fromHarvard Collegein 1771. James then studied law atOxfordand traveled widely in Europe until 1775. When he got the news of theBattle of Lexingtonhe returned home. He served in theMassachusetts state legislatureand on the council before attending the Massachusetts’ constitutional convention in 1779 and 1780.

James devoted several years to scholarly pursuits, until he was appointed theUnited States Ambassador to Spainin 1804. He arrived inMadridin May, 1805 but never actually assumed the post of ambassador.In March 1806 he andJohn Armstrongof New York were named commissioners to negotiate boundaries and other issues with Spain. He returned home in 1808 when the talks inParisended without success. He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1786.

WhenBowdoin Collegewas founded in Maine, he gave the new school 6,000 acres (24 km²) and $5,500. When he died, he also bequeathed his considerable library, papers, mineral collection, scientific apparatus and art collection to the school. He died in 1811 onNaushon IslandinBuzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Further reading

• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Bowdoin, James".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.This article about his father devotes the last paragraph to the son, James Bowdoin III.