author
John Hay
1838–1905
A close friend and secretary to Abraham Lincoln who later became one of America’s most influential diplomats, he also wrote poetry, fiction, and history. His life moved from the Civil War White House to the center of U.S. foreign policy at the turn of the 20th century.
6 Audiobooks
Pike County Ballads and Other Poems
by John Hay
Abraham Lincoln: a History — Volume 01
by John G. (John George) Nicolay, John Hay
Abraham Lincoln, a History — Volume 02
by John G. (John George) Nicolay, John Hay
Poems
by John Hay
The Bread-winners: A Social Study
by John Hay
Castilian Days
by John Hay
About the author
Born in Salem, Indiana, in 1838, John Hay grew up in Illinois, graduated from Brown University, and studied law in Springfield, where he met Abraham Lincoln. He became one of Lincoln’s private secretaries during the Civil War, an experience that shaped both his public career and his writing.
Hay went on to serve as a diplomat and statesman for decades, eventually becoming U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. He is especially remembered for helping guide American foreign policy during a period of growing international power, including work connected with the Open Door policy toward China.
He was also a man of letters. Alongside his government service, Hay wrote poems, fiction, journalism, and, with John G. Nicolay, the major multivolume biography of Abraham Lincoln. That mix of political insider, witness to history, and working writer gives his books a distinctive place in American literary and public life.