Kellogg was born inPotsdam, New York, on December 22, 1856, the son of Abigail (Billings) and Asa Farnsworth Kellogg.[14] His family moved toMinnesota in 1865.[15]
As Secretary of State, he was responsible for improvingU.S.–Mexican relations and helping to resolve the long-standingTacna–Arica controversy between Peru and Chile. His most significant accomplishment, however, was theKellogg–Briand Pact, signed in 1928. Proposed by its other namesake, French foreign ministerAristide Briand, the treaty intended to provide for "the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy." Kellogg was awarded the 1929Nobel Peace Prize in recognition.[15][24][25] (Briand had already won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926).[26]
Kellogg was self-conscious about his lack of academic credentials; he attended a one-room country school and dropped out at age 14. He never attended high school, college or law school. His only advanced training came from clerking in a private lawyer's office. Kellogg grew up in a poor farm in Minnesota, and lacked a commanding presence or the sophistication to deal with the aristocrats who dominated European diplomacy. As Secretary of State, his main focus was Latin America, where he dealt with brutal but unsophisticated strongmen. His staff provided the ideas, and they appreciated that he was always open, candid, and easy to communicate with. He helped end the battle between the Mexican government and the Catholic Church, but failed to resolve the dispute over ownership of the oil reserves. In the Far East, he followed the advice of Nelson Trusler Johnson, the new chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs. They favored China and protected it from threats from Japan. They successfully negotiated tariff reform with China, thereby giving enhanced status to the Kuomintang and helping get rid of theunequal treaties.[32] As for Europe he was primarily interested with expanding the limitations on naval armaments that been established by theWashington Treaty; he made little progress. Kellogg gained international fame, and the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Kellogg–Briand Pact. It was endorsed by nearly every nation and made starting a war a punishable criminal action. It formed the legal basis for the trial and execution of German and Japanese war leaders after 1945.[33]
In 1886, Kellogg marriedClara May Cook (1861–1942), the daughter of George Clinton Cook (1828–1901) and Elizabeth (née Burns) Cook (1838–1908).[34]
In 1880, he became a member of theMasonic Lodge Rochester No. 21, where he received the degrees offreemasonry on April 1, April 19, and May 3.[35]
He died from pneumonia, following a stroke, on the eve of his 81st birthday inSt. Paul.[12] He was buried at the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea inWashington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.[15]
Frank B. Kellogg's papers are available for research use at theMinnesota Historical Society. They include correspondence and miscellaneous papers, State Department duplicates, news clippings scrapbooks, awards, floor plans, honorary degrees, maps, memorials and memoranda.[39]
^abHistorical Society, Olmsted County (1883).History of Olmsted County, Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc (Gathered from Matter Furnished by Interviews with Old Settlers, County, Township, and Other Records, and Extracts from Files of Papers, Pamphlets, and Such Other Sources as Have Been Available). Olmsted County Historical Society (Minnesota).
^Leonard, Joseph Alexander (1910).History of Olmsted County, Minnesota - Together with Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers, Citizens, Families and Institutions. Goodspeed Historical Association.
^Denslow, William R. (1957)."10,000 Famous Freemasons".The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library. Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co. RetrievedNovember 10, 2014.
^"Frank B. Kellogg House".National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived fromthe original on April 3, 2008. RetrievedJanuary 8, 2008.
Carroll, Francis M. "Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg Comes to Ireland, 1928". inAmerica and the Making of an Independent Ireland (New York University Press, 2021) pp. 184–198.
Cleaver, Charles G. "Frank B. Kellogg: Attitudes and Assumptions Influencing His Foreign Policy Decisions" (PhD dissertation, University of Minnesota; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1956. 590377).
Ellis, Lewis Ethan (1961).Frank B. Kellogg and American Foreign Relations, 1925-1929. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.online
Ellis, Lewis Ethan (1968).Republican Foreign Policy, 1921–1933online
Ellis, L. Ethan (1961). "Frank B. Kellogg" inAn Uncertain Tradition: American Secretaries of State in the 20th Century. ed. Norman A. Graebner. pp. 149–67.
Ferrell, Robert H.Frank B. Kellogg & Henry L. Stimson: The American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy. Cooper Square Publishers, 1963.online
Rhodes, Benjamin D. (2001).United States Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period, 1918–1941: The Golden Age of American Diplomatic and Military Complacency. pp. 57–72.
