Robert Sanderson McCormick

Robert Sanderson McCormick 1849-1919, American diplomat, b. Rockbridge co., Va.; nephew of Cyrus Hall McCormick. President McKinley appointed (1901) him minister to Austria-Hungary. He became the first American ambassador to Austria-Hungary, and he then served as ambassador to Russia (1902-5) and to France (1905-7). He married Katherine Von Etta Medill, daughter of Joseph Medill . His son Joseph Medill McCormick, 1877-1925, b. Chicago, began his journalistic career as a reporter on the family newspaper, the Chicago Tribune. By 1908 the newspaper was under his management. He was a leading figure in Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive party campaign (1912) and later served in the Illinois legislature (1913-17), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1917-19), and in the U.S. Senate (1919-25). He was a strong opponent of the League of Nations. His brother was Robert Rutherford McCormick (see separate article). His wife was Ruth Hanna McCormick, 1880-1945, b. Cleveland, daughter of Mark Hanna . She early became interested in Republican party politics. She served (1929-31) in the U.S. House of Representatives but was defeated as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1930.