born May 6, 1853, Brownsville, Pa., U.S.
died Oct. 12, 1921, Washington, D.C.
U.S. lawyer and politician.
After admission to the bar in 1875 he became a successful corporation lawyer in Pittsburgh. As legal counsel for the Carnegie Steel Company, he helped organize the United States Steel Corp. (190001). Appointed attorney general by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, he initiated several suits under the Sherman Antitrust Act . He served in the U.S. Senate from 1904 to 1909. As secretary of state (190913) under Pres. William H. Taft , he helped develop the foreign policy of expanded U.S. investment later criticized as Dollar Diplomacy . During his second term in the Senate (191721), he opposed the formation of the League of Nations .