Anders Zorn

John Milton Hay, born October 8, 1838, in Salem, Indiana, USA, died July 1, 1905, in Newbury, New Hampshire, was an American Republican politician. He was born in Indiana and raised in Warsaw, Illinois. He studied at Brown University and served as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1864. He shared a room with another secretary, John George Nicolay, on the second floor of the White House. He was present when President Lincoln died, after he (Lincoln) had been shot in Washington, D.C. Hay and Nicolay co-authored the ten-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln's life: Abraham Lincoln: a History (10 volumes, 1890).

After 1865, he held various positions in the State Department and served as the United States Ambassador to Great Britain from 1897 to 1898, and then as Secretary of State until his death in 1905. In this role, Hay had a heavier workload than any of his predecessors due to the Union's imperialistic policies and active foreign affairs. He concluded peace with Spain in 1898, proclaimed and advocated the principle of the "Open Door" regarding China in 1898-99, and dealt with the complex issues arising from the acquisition of the Panama Canal. In 1899, he concluded a treaty with the British envoy in Washington, Julian Paunceforte, regarding the repeal of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which was rejected by the Senate. New negotiations led to the Hay-Paunceforte Treaty on November 18, 1901, which was ratified by the Senate and granted the United States almost free rein in the proposed canal construction and the future management of the canal. However, it stipulated equal rights for the vessels of all nations to use the canal. The subsequent negotiations with Colombia were also conducted by Hay. He was in contact with the rebels in Panama and recognised the republic immediately. The author Henry Adams was a close friend of Hay. They built their homes next to each other on Lafayette Square in Washington. The building is now known as the Hay-Adams Hotel.