Stimson, Henry Lewis

Extract

Stimson, Henry Lewis (21 September 1867–20 October 1950), cabinet member and statesman, was born in New York City, the son of Lewis Atterbury Stimson, a stockbroker, and Candace Wheeler. In 1871 Stimson’s father sold his seat on the New York Stock Exchange and took his family to Europe, where for the next three years he studied to become a physician. Following the family’s return to the United States, Stimson’s mother died, and young Henry was sent to live with his grandparents. At the age of thirteen Stimson went off to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He continued his education at Yale, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1888. While at Yale, he was elected to Skull and Bones, a secret society that afforded him with important contacts for the rest of his life....