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Ellis Loring Dresel

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Ellis Loring Dresel
Dresel, circa 1920.
United States Ambassador toGermany
In office
December 10, 1921 – April 18, 1922
PresidentWarren G. Harding
Preceded byJames W. Gerard(1917)
Succeeded byAlanson B. Houghton
Personal details
Born
Ellis Loring Dresel

(1865-11-28)November 28, 1865
Boston,Massachusetts, US
DiedSeptember 19, 1925(1925-09-19)(aged 59)
Prides Crossing,Massachusetts, US
Resting placeBeverly Central Cemetery,Beverly, Massachusetts
Parent
RelativesEllis Gray Loring(grandfather)
EducationHarvard University(B.A.,LL.B.)
OccupationLawyer, diplomat

Ellis Loring Dresel(November 28, 1865 – September 19, 1925) was an American lawyer and diplomat. DuringWorld War I,from 1915 to 1917, Dresel wasattachéto theU.S. embassy in Berlin.After the war, Dresel signed thepeace treaty with Germany,and served aschargé d'affairesfor a few months, before retiring from the Foreign Service altogether.

Biography

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The son of German pianist and composerOtto Dreseland Anna Loring,[1][2]Ellis Dresel was born in Boston on November 28, 1865. He had one sibling, a sister Louisa.[2]His maternal grandfather,Ellis Gray Loring,was an abolitionist and one of the founders of theNew England Anti-Slavery Society.[2]He graduated fromHarvard Collegein 1887 and fromHarvard Law Schoolin 1892. He was fluent in French and German. He practiced law with the firm of Goodwin, Dresel and Parker in Boston and lived there onBeacon Streetfor most of his life.[3]He also served as a director of Corbin Copper and Silver Mining Company.[4]He belonged to several private clubs and, with his sister as hostess, gave acotillionat Christmas 1906 at the New Algonquin Club.[5]

He was in Europe when World War I broke out in 1915 and he volunteered his services to the U.S. embassy in Berlin, first helping Americans stranded in Germany.[6][7]After being forced to leave Berlin when the United States entered the war, he handled the affairs of theU.S. embassy in Viennauntil the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke off diplomatic relations. He was responsible for relations between the German government and Britishprisoners of warfrom 1917 to 1918. During that time, inBern,Dresel also worked with theAmerican Red Cross,the American Legation, and its War Trade Board.

Dresel led the political information section of theParis Peace Conferencein 1919. From 1919 to 1921, he was the United States commissioner to Germany where he promoted the public presence of the United States with annual Fourth of July celebrations.[8]He signed the treaty that concluded hostilities between the United States and Germany and restored their diplomatic relations on November 11, 1921.[9][10]

Dresel was the first American diplomatic observer to visit Germany afterWorld War I.[11]

In 1921, his title was changed tochargé d'affaires.The following year, though PresidentWarren G. Hardingwas prepared to name him ambassador to Germany, he left government service and returned to the United States.[6]Harvard awarded him an honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1922 in recognition of his diplomatic service.[3][12]

Dresel suffered from heart problems even while in the diplomatic service.[13]He died ofcanceron September 19, 1925, inPride's Crossing, Massachusetts.He was buried in Beverly Central Cemetery inBeverly, Massachusetts.[14]

Legacy

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He never married. He belonged to the Episcopal Church.[3]Years later, a group of Harvard graduates established a fund in his honor.[15]

Dresel's papers are preserved in theHoughton Library,including correspondence withWilliam Richards Castle,Joseph Clark Grew,Hugh S. Gibson,Henry Cabot Lodge,andAllen Welsh Dulles.[16]

References

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  1. ^Crawford, Mary Caroline (1930).Famous Families of Massachusetts.Massachusetts:Little, Brown and Company.p. 275.
  2. ^abc"Loring, Ellis Gray, 1803-1858. Papers, 1809-1942".Harvard University Library.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  3. ^abc"Ellis L. Dresel, Diplomat, Dead".Boston Globe.September 21, 1925.
  4. ^"Appointed to Berlin Post"(PDF).New York Times.November 1, 1919.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  5. ^"Gave a Christmas Cotillion".Boston Evening Transcript.December 22, 1906.RetrievedAugust 15,2015.
  6. ^ab"Dresel is Favored for Berlin Embassy".New York Times.September 3, 1921.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  7. ^"Ellis L. Dresel, Diplomatist, Dead"(PDF).New York Times.September 21, 1925.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  8. ^"Americans in Berlin Celebrate the Day"(PDF).New York Times.July 5, 1921.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  9. ^"Germany Will Sign Peace Treaty Today with United States"(PDF).New York Times.August 24, 1921.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  10. ^"German Treaty Goes into Effect"(PDF).New York Times.November 12, 1921.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  11. ^Jonas, Manfred (1985).The United States and Germany: A Diplomatic History.Cornell University Press.pp. 141, 144, 149.ISBN0-8014-9890-2.
  12. ^"1,401 Harvard Men Win their Degrees"(PDF).New York Times.June 23, 1922.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  13. ^Russell, Charles H. (September 26, 1925)."Ellis Loring Dresel"(PDF).New York Times.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  14. ^Boston University
  15. ^"Fund Will Honor Dresel"(PDF).New York Times.April 27, 1929.RetrievedAugust 14,2015.
  16. ^Dresel, Ellis Loring,1865-1925. Papers: Guide.Houghton Library,Harvard University Library.
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Germany
1921-1922 		Succeeded by
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