Charles K. Tuckerman

Charles Keating Tuckerman
United States Ambassador to Greece
In office March 11, 1868 – November 4, 1871
President	Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Created
Succeeded by	John M. Francis
Personal details
Born	March 11, 1827 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	February 26, 1896 (aged 68) Florence, Italy
Spouse(s)	Mary Fleming
Relations	Charles K. Tuckerman (brother) Edward Tuckerman (cousin) Samuel P. Tuckerman (cousin) Frederick Tuckerman (cousin)
Children	Arthur Lyman Tuckerman
Parents	Henry Harris Tuckerman Ruth Lyman Keating
Education	Boston Latin School

Charles Keating Tuckerman (March 11, 1827 – February 26, 1896) was an American diplomat, writer and the first American minister resident to Greece.

Early life and family

Charles Keating Tuckerman was born on March 11, 1827 in Boston, Massachusetts to Henry Harris Tuckerman (1783–1860) and Ruth Lyman Keating (1787–1823). His parents had the following children: Elizabeth Tuckerman Heath (d. 1847), Henry Theodore Tuckerman, Lucy Keating Tuckerman (1820–1880), Ruth Keating Tuckerman (1821–1896), and Charles Keating Tuckerman (1821–1896).^[1] His sister Ruth married Rudolph Bunner, Jr. (1813–1875), the son of Rudolph Bunner (1779–1837), a U.S. Representative from New York. He was educated at Boston Latin School.

His first cousins included Edward Tuckerman (1817–1886), the botanist, Samuel Parkman Tuckerman (1819–1890), the composer, and Frederick Goddard Tuckerman (1821–1873), the poet.^[2]

Career

After spending his 20s working overseas, he returned to the United States in 1856, settling in New York City, where he directed the New York Institution for the Blind.

President Andrew Johnson asked Tuckerman in 1867 to be the American minister resident to Greece, because of Tuckerman's experience overseas. The Senate refused initially to confirm Tuckerman's nomination, but he was officially appointed on March 11, 1868 and presented his credentials on June 16, 1868.^[3] Tuckerman was the first American diplomat ever posted to Greece. While there, he helped improve trading relations between Greece and the United States. His resignation in 1871 was delayed for six months by President Ulysses S. Grant, who wanted to keep Tuckerman on the job and presented recall on November 4, 1871.^[3] Tuckerman returned to the United States after his Greek posting.

Writings

Tuckerman wrote three books:

• The Greeks of To-day (published in 1872 by G.P. Putnam & Sons)^[4]
• Miscellaneous Poems (published in 1880 by Moxon, Saunders and Co.)^[5]
• Personal Recollections of Notable People at Home and Abroad (published in 1895 in two volumes by Dodd Mead)^[6]

Personal life

In 1858, Tuckerman married Mary Fleming (1837–1901). Together they had:

• Arthur Lyman Tuckerman (1861–1892),^[7] an architect who wrote three books: A Short History of Architecture (1887),^[8] Design (1891),^[9] and Selections of Works of Architecture and Sculpture Belonging Chiefly to the Period of the Renaissance in Italy (1891).^[10]

Tuckerman died in Florence, Italy on February 26, 1896.^[11]

References

1. "Henry Theodore Tuckerman". www.findagrave.com. Find A Grave Memorial. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
2. Tuckerman, Frederick Goddard; ed. by N. Scott Momaday (1965). The Complete Poems of Frederick Goddard Tuckerman. New York: Oxford University Press. p. xvii.
3. "Charles Keating Tuckerman - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
4. Tuckerman, Charles K (1 January 1872). "The Greeks of to-day.". G.P. Putnam & Sons. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
5. Tuckerman, Charles K (1 January 1880). "Miscellaneous poems". Moxon, Saunders and Co. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
6. Tuckerman, Charles K (1 January 1895). "Personal recollections of notable people at home and abroad.". Dodd Mead. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
7. Tuckerman, Arthur Lyman (1 January 1891). "Design". New York, W. T. Comstock. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
8. Tuckerman, Arthur Lyman (1 January 1887). "A short history of architecture,". C. Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
9. Tuckerman, Arthur Lyman (1 January 1891). "Design,". W.T. Comstock. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
10. Tuckerman, Arthur Lyman (1 January 1891). "Selections of works of architecture and sculpture belonging chiefly to the period of the Renaissance in Italy". W.T. Comstock. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
11. "Charles Keating Tuckerman Dead.". The New York Times. February 28, 1896. Retrieved 13 September 2016.

External links

• Google Books version of the 1910 National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
• "Political characteristics of the modern Greeks," an article written by Charles Tuckerman for Harper's Magazine in 1872.
• Design by Arthur Lyman Tuckerman, digitized by Internet Archive