Robert Liston (diplomat)
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Sir Robert Liston, GCB, PC (8 October 1742 – 15 July 1836)[1][2] was a British diplomat and ambassador to several countries.
Biography
Liston was born in Kirkliston, Scotland, went up to Edinburgh University, and then tutored the sons of the Earl of Minto.[3] Said to be able to speak ten languages,[1] Liston joined the diplomatic service and enjoyed a career spanning Europe appointed on 22 September 1793, eventually arriving at Constantinople on 19 May 1794. He hated it there and left on 4 November 1795.
In a promotion he was posted to the United States.[3] In 1796 he married the heiress Henrietta Marchant of Antigua. Henrietta's charm and social tact were a great asset to her husband; she also kept an interesting diary in which she records favourable impressions of George Washington and John Adams,[4] and an unfavourable impression of Talleyrand. Robert was also on excellent terms with Washington, though relations cooled somewhat after Adams' election.
On 26 March 1812 he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and on 21 October 1816, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath.[2] Liston's wife died in 1828 and he died in 1836.[2] He had no children.[2]
Timeline of career
- Secretary of Embassy to the King of Spain (12 March 1783)[5]
- Minister plenipotentiary to Spain (1784)
- Ambassador to Sweden (1788–1793)
- Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1 October 1793 – 1796)
- Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States (10 March 1796 – 1800)
- Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Batavian republic (14 August 1802)
- Extraordinary mission to the King of Denmark (23 June 1803)
- Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (2 March 1812)
See also
- List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the United States
- List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire
References
- 1 2 "Sir David Wilkie: Sir Robert Liston, 1742 - 1836". National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- 1 2 3 4 Urban, Sylvanus (1837). "The Gentleman's Magazine". 6 (161). London: F. Jefferies: 539. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- 1 2 Taylor, Clare. Simmons, Richard, ed. "The Liston Papers, 1796-1800" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- ↑ McCullough, David. John Adams Simon and Schuster New York 2001
- ↑ "St. James's, March 12". The London Gazette. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Hammond |
British Minister to the United States 1796 – 1800 |
Succeeded by Anthony Merry |