Myron T. Herrick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 42nd Governor of Ohio | |
| In office January 11, 1904 – January 8, 1906 | |
| Lieutenant | Warren G. Harding |
| Preceded by | George K. Nash |
| Succeeded by | John M. Pattison |
| U.S. Ambassador to France | |
| In office 1912–1914 | |
| Governor | William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Robert Bacon |
| Succeeded by | William Graves Sharp |
| In office 1921–1929 | |
| Governor | Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge |
| Preceded by | Hugh Campbell Wallace |
| Succeeded by | Walter Evans Edge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Myron Timothy Herrick (1854-10-09)October 9, 1854 |
| Died | March 31, 1929(1929-03-31) (aged 74) |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery,Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Caroline Marina Parmely |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College Ohio Wesleyan University |
| Signature | .png) |
Myron Timothy Herrick (October 9, 1854 – March 31, 1929) was an American banker, diplomat andRepublican politician fromOhio. He served as the 42ndgovernor of Ohio andUnited States Ambassador to France on two occasions.
Herrick was born inHuntington,Lorain County, Ohio, the son of Mary (Hulburt) Herrick and Colonel Timothy Robinson Herrick, a local farmer and businessman.[1] He studied atOberlin College andOhio Wesleyan University, but graduated from neither.[2][3] He married Caroline Marina Parmely ofDayton, Ohio, on June 30, 1880. They had one son, Parmely Webb Herrick (1881–1937).[3]
Admitted to practice law in Cleveland in 1878, Herrick joined the bankSociety for Savings as secretary and treasurer in 1886, and became the bank's president in 1894.[4]
From 1885 to 1888, Herrick was a member of the Cleveland City Council.[2][3] In 1886, in Cleveland, he helped to finance the founding of TheNational Carbon Company, along withW. H. Lawrence,James Parmelee, andJames Webb Cook Hayes, son of U.S. PresidentRutherford B. Hayes.[5] This company, a predecessor ofUnion Carbide,Energizer, andEveready, would come to figure prominently in the history of the consumerbattery and theflashlight.
Herrick was aPresidential elector in 1892 forHarrison/Reid.[6]
While governor-elect in 1902, Herrick gave $20,000 to the village ofWellington, Ohio, to build the library now known as the Herrick Memorial Library. Herrick later bequeathed $70,000 for an addition.[7]
Herrick served as the governor of Ohio from 1904 to 1906; (futureUnited States President)Warren G. Harding served as hislieutenant governor. He had been a protégé of political bossMark Hanna, but in 1906 was defeated by the efforts ofWayne Wheeler and theAnti-Saloon League after he refused to support their plan for the prohibition of alcohol in Ohio.
Herrick contributed to French-American amity before and during World War I.[8] He wasUnited States Ambassador to France from 1912 to 1914 and again from 1921 to 1929. He is the only American ambassador to France with a street named after him in Paris, in the8th arrondissement. As ambassador, Herrick hostedCharles Lindbergh in Paris after his successful New York-to-Paris Atlantic crossing in 1927.[9]
Upon his return to the United States in 1914, Herrick's prominent role in helping Americans stranded by the outbreak of World War I led to discussion within the Republican Party of Herrick as a possible nominee in the upcoming1916 presidential election. Herrick believed that his business background would prove a liability, and when his candidacy failed to gain traction, he tried and failed to defeat incumbent DemocraticSenatorAtlee Pomerene in 1916.[10]
Herrick was serving as United States Ambassador to France at the time of his death on March 31, 1929. He died from aheart attack.
He was interred atLake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.[11]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican Partynominee forGovernor of Ohio 1903,1905 | Succeeded by |
| First | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromOhio (Class 1) 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to France 1914–1919 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to France 1921–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Envoys to France (1776–1779) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Ministers Plenipotentiary to France (1778–1815) | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1816–1893) | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France (1893–present) | ||
