Cyrus Woods

Cyrus Woods
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office March 1, 1929 – October 30, 1930
Governor	John Stuchell Fisher
Preceded by	Thomas Baldrige
Succeeded by	William Schnader
United States Ambassador to Japan
In office July 21, 1923 – June 5, 1924
President	Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge
Preceded by	Charles Warren
Succeeded by	Edgar Bancroft
United States Ambassador to Spain
In office October 14, 1921 – April 18, 1923
President	Warren G. Harding
Preceded by	Joseph Willard
Succeeded by	Alexander Moore
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In office January 20, 1915 – October 14, 1921
Governor	Martin Brumbaugh William Sproul
Preceded by	Robert McAfee
Succeeded by	Bernard Myers
United States Envoy to Portugal
In office March 20, 1912 – August 19, 1913
President	William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson
Preceded by	Edwin Morgan
Succeeded by	Meredith Nicholson
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 39th district
In office January 1, 1901 – May 16, 1907
Preceded by	John Brown
Succeeded by	John Jamison
Personal details
Born	September 3, 1861 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	December 8, 1938 (aged 77) Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Todd Marchand
Alma mater	Lafayette College University of Pennsylvania Law School
Profession	Attorney, Politician, Diplomat

Cyrus E. Woods (September 3, 1861 – December 8, 1938) was an American attorney, diplomat and politician.

Early life and career

He was born September 3, 1861 in Clearfield, Pennsylvania to Matthew Woods and Catheine/Katharine (Bella) Spice/Speece.^[1] He attended Lafayette College.^[2] He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a law degree in 1889. Woods practiced law in Philadelphia and then in Pittsburgh, where he became associated with the interests of the Mellon family. On January 18, 1893, Woods married the former Mary Todd Marchand,^[3] a great-granddaughter of James Todd, former state Attorney General.

In 1900, Woods made his first bid for political office, successfully contesting the Westmoreland County-based 39th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate. He served in the Senate for two terms, from 1901 to 1907.^[1][4]

Diplomatic service and state appointments

Woods received his first diplomatic appointment in 1912, when President William Howard Taft named him the United States' Enovy to Portugal, with the official title of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, as the United States had not yet elevated the post to ambassador status.^[1]

In 1915, Governor Martin Brumbaugh appointed him Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Woods would serve six years in the post, before resigning in 1921 to take-up the post of Ambassador to Spain.^[1] In 1923, he moved to the post of Ambassador to Japan. During his time in Japan, he organized the American relief effort in response to the devastating 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, before resigning in 1924.

In 1929, Governor John Fisher, with whom Woods had served in the State Senate,^[5] appointed him Pennsylvania Attorney General. Woods served in the post, his final political or diplomatic appointment, for eighteen months.^[1]

Death and legacy

Woods died December 8, 1938 in Philadelphia, where he had gone for medical treatment. After his death, his widow established a foundation which became the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.^[6]

References

1. "Woods". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
2. He entered as a junior: "Supplement: New Students". The Lafayette X (10). July 1885.
3. The Twentieth Century Bench and Bar of Pennsylvania. Volume I. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr., Bro. 1903. p. 135.
4. Sharon Trostle, ed. (2009). The Pennsylvania Manual (PDF) 119. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 0-8182-0334-X.
5. Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1901-1902" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
6. "History of Westmoreland County Museum".

• "Cyrus E. Woods Dies", The Washington Post, December 9, 1938, p. 6.
• "Cyrus Woods Dies, Ex-Envoy in Japan", New York Times, December 9, 1938, p. 25.

External links

• Profile at the U.S. Department of State
• The Cyrus E. Woods Papers at Georgetown University