Robert Wilson Shufeldt

Born in Red Hook, New York, on February 21, 1822, Robert Wilson Shufeldt built a long career in and around the U.S. Navy. He entered naval service as a young man, later resigned for a time to work on commercial and transit projects, and eventually returned to service during the Civil War.

Shufeldt is best remembered as a diplomat as much as a sailor. He served in East Asia and played a leading role in negotiating the 1882 treaty between the United States and Korea, one of the major moments in early formal relations between the two countries. His career also included work connected with Japan, Cuba, and broader questions of American commerce and strategy overseas.

He died in 1895. Accounts of his life describe him as energetic, ambitious, and unusually wide-ranging in his interests, combining naval command with exploration, negotiation, and international statecraft.