John Russell Young

John Russell Young

John Russell Young (November 20, 1840 – January 17, 1899^[1]) was an American journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh Librarian of the United States Congress from 1897 to 1899.

Biography

Young was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, but as a young child his family emigrated to Philadelphia. He entered the newspaper business as a proofreader at age 15. As a reporter for the Philadelphia Press, he distinguished himself with his coverage of the First Battle of Bull Run. By 1862 he was managing editor of the Press and another newspaper.

In 1865 he moved to New York, where he became a close friend of Henry George and helped to distribute Progress and Poverty. He began writing for Horace Greeley's New York Tribune and became managing editor of that paper. He also began working for the government, undertaking missions to Europe for the US Department of State and the US Department of the Treasury. In 1872, he joined the New York Herald and reported for them from Europe.

Young was invited to accompany President Ulysses S. Grant on Grant's famous 1877-1879 world tour, chronicled in Young's book Around the World with General Grant. Young impressed Grant, especially in China where Young struck up a friendship with Li Hongzhang. Grant persuaded President Chester A. Arthur to appoint Young minister to China in 1882. In this position he distinguished himself by mediating and settling disputes between the US and China and France and China.

In 1885 he resumed working for the Herald in Europe. In 1890 he returned to Philadelphia. In 1897 President William McKinley appointed him Librarian of Congress, the first Librarian confirmed by Congress. During his tenure, the Library began moving from its original home in the US Capitol Building to its own structure, an accomplishment largely the responsibility of his predecessor, Ainsworth Rand Spofford. Spofford served as Chief Assistant Librarian under Young. Young held the post of Librarian until his death.

His brother was Congressman James Rankin Young.

References

↑ Dictionary of American Library Biography. (1978). Bohdan Wynar, ed. "Young, John Russell (1840-1899)." Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited. p. 584-586. ISBN 0-87287-180-0

John Y. Cole (March 30, 2006). "Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress -- Librarians of Congress". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2008-12-15.

External links

John Russell Young at Find a Grave

Librarians of Congress

John Beckley (1802–1807) Patrick Magruder (1807–1815) George Watterston (1815–1829) John Meehan (1829–1861) John Stephenson (1861–1864) Ainsworth Spofford (1864–1897) John Young (1897–1899)

Herbert Putnam (1899–1939) Archibald MacLeish (1939–1944) Luther Evans (1945–1953) Lawrence Mumford (1954–1974) Daniel Boorstin (1975–1987) James Billington (1987–2015)

United States Ambassadors to China

Envoys to the Qing Empire 1843–1858	Caleb Cushing 1843–44 Alexander Hill Everett 1845–47 John Wesley Davis 1848–50 Humphrey Marshall 1852–54 Robert Milligan McLane 1853–54 Peter Parker 1855–57

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plentipotentiary to the Qing Empire 1858–1913	William Bradford Reed 1857–58 John Elliott Ward 1858–60 Anson Burlingame 1861–67 John Ross Browne 1868–69 Frederick F. Low 1869–73 Benjamin Avery 1874–75 George Seward 1876–80 James Burrill Angell 1880–81 John Russell Young 1882–85 Charles Harvey Denby 1885–98 Edwin H. Conger 1898–1905 William Woodville Rockhill 1905–09 William James Calhoun 1909–13

Envoy to the Republic of China 1913–1929	Paul Samuel Reinsch 1913–19 Charles Richard Crane 1920–21 Jacob Gould Schurman 1921–25 John Van Antwerp MacMurray 1925–29

Ambassador to the Republic of China 1929–1949	Nelson T. Johnson 1929–41 Clarence E. Gauss 1941–44 Patrick J. Hurley 1944–45 John Leighton Stuart 1946–49 Embassy in Taipei 1949–pres.

Chiefs of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing 1973–79	David K. E. Bruce 1973–74 George H. W. Bush 1974–75 Thomas S. Gates, Jr. 1976–77 Leonard Woodcock 1977–79

Ambassador to the People's Republic of China 1979–present	Leonard Woodcock 1979–81 Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. 1981–85 Winston Lord 1985–89 James R. Lilley 1989–91 J. Stapleton Roy 1991–95 Jim Sasser 1996–99 Joseph Prueher 1999–2001 Clark T. Randt, Jr. 2001–09 Jon Huntsman, Jr. 2009–11 Gary Locke 2011–14 Max Baucus 2014–pres.

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 238818913 LCCN: n83202815 GND: 1051092493 BNF: cb10518660p (data) NDL: 00461641

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