Caleb Cushing

Born in Salisbury, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1800, Caleb Cushing studied at Harvard, became a lawyer, and entered public life while still young. He served in the Massachusetts legislature and then in the U.S. House of Representatives, building a reputation as an able speaker and an ambitious, highly educated public figure.

Cushing's career was remarkably wide-ranging. He served as minister to China, where he helped negotiate the Treaty of Wanghia, one of the first major agreements between the United States and China. Later he became U.S. attorney general under President Franklin Pierce, and he was also involved in diplomacy with Spain and in major legal and political disputes of the mid-19th century.

Remembered as both gifted and complicated, Cushing was admired for his intellect but often viewed with suspicion because his politics shifted with the turbulent times. He died on January 2, 1879, leaving behind the story of a man who stood close to power for decades and took part in some of the defining arguments of 19th-century America.