Robert Woods Bliss was born on August 5, 1875, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Henry Bliss and Anna Louisa Woods Bliss. After his mother's death, his father remarried Anna Barnes in 1894, and through that marriage he became stepbrother to Cora Barnes and Mildred Barnes. He attended preparatory schools in Virginia, Minnesota, and Boston, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts degree in 1900.

He entered public service in 1901 as an assistant in the office of the secretary of the United States civil government in Puerto Rico and served as private secretary to the governor of Puerto Rico until 1903. That same year he passed the State Department examination and began his diplomatic career. His early postings included U.S. consul in Venice, second secretary at the embassy in Saint Petersburg, and secretary at the legations in Brussels and Buenos Aires. He went on to serve as secretary and later counselor of the United States Embassy in Paris during the First World War.

In 1920 he became chief of the Division of Western European Affairs in Washington, and from 1921 to 1923 he served as third assistant secretary of state. He was appointed United States minister to Sweden from 1923 to 1927 and United States ambassador to Argentina from 1927 to 1933. After retiring from diplomatic service, he remained involved in public affairs and during the Second World War served as a consultant to the Department of State and as special assistant to the Secretary of State.

On April 14, 1908, he married Mildred Barnes, daughter of his stepmother. Together they became notable art collectors. They acquired the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C., where they assembled collections of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art. In 1940 they donated the property and collections to Harvard University to form the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, which became a center for scholarship in Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and garden studies.

Bliss served on boards and committees related to the arts, museums, and historic preservation, including positions with the American Federation of Arts, the Smithsonian Art Commission, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He received honorary degrees from the University of Missouri, Syracuse University, and Harvard University. He and his wife had no children.

Robert Woods Bliss died in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 1962, at the age of eighty-six. His ashes were interred in the Rose Garden at Dumbarton Oaks, the estate he had developed and preserved.

Bio by:Stories Among The Stones

Robert Woods Bliss was born on August 5, 1875, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Henry Bliss and Anna Louisa Woods Bliss. After his mother's death, his father remarried Anna Barnes in 1894, and through that marriage he became stepbrother to Cora Barnes and Mildred Barnes. He attended preparatory schools in Virginia, Minnesota, and Boston, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts degree in 1900.

He entered public service in 1901 as an assistant in the office of the secretary of the United States civil government in Puerto Rico and served as private secretary to the governor of Puerto Rico until 1903. That same year he passed the State Department examination and began his diplomatic career. His early postings included U.S. consul in Venice, second secretary at the embassy in Saint Petersburg, and secretary at the legations in Brussels and Buenos Aires. He went on to serve as secretary and later counselor of the United States Embassy in Paris during the First World War.

In 1920 he became chief of the Division of Western European Affairs in Washington, and from 1921 to 1923 he served as third assistant secretary of state. He was appointed United States minister to Sweden from 1923 to 1927 and United States ambassador to Argentina from 1927 to 1933. After retiring from diplomatic service, he remained involved in public affairs and during the Second World War served as a consultant to the Department of State and as special assistant to the Secretary of State.

On April 14, 1908, he married Mildred Barnes, daughter of his stepmother. Together they became notable art collectors. They acquired the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C., where they assembled collections of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art. In 1940 they donated the property and collections to Harvard University to form the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, which became a center for scholarship in Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and garden studies.

Bliss served on boards and committees related to the arts, museums, and historic preservation, including positions with the American Federation of Arts, the Smithsonian Art Commission, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He received honorary degrees from the University of Missouri, Syracuse University, and Harvard University. He and his wife had no children.

Robert Woods Bliss died in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 1962, at the age of eighty-six. His ashes were interred in the Rose Garden at Dumbarton Oaks, the estate he had developed and preserved.

Bio by:Stories Among The Stones