John Ridgeley Carter (November 28, 1864 – June 4, 1944) was an American attorney, diplomat, and banker.
Early life
Carter was born on November 28, 1864, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was one of fourteen children born to Mary Buckner (née Ridgely) Carter and Bernard Carter,[1] a prominent lawyer and professor.[2]
On September 25, 1909, he was appointed as U.S. Minister at Bucharest, Romania. He presented his credentials on November 14, 1909, and served until October 24, 1911. While Minister to Romania, he concurrently served as the U.S. Minister to Serbia and Bulgaria (appointed as diplomatic agent on September 25, 1909, followed by U.S. Minister on June 24, 1910, although he never presented his credentials).[6]
In 1911, he was offered the post of U.S. Minister to Argentina, but refused it because it came without a house to live in.[7] Carter felt that without such accommodation, the post would be too expensive for him on his annual salary of $12,000.[1] It was estimated that Charles H. Sherrill, the minister he was intended to replace (and under whom Robert Woods Bliss served as secretary of the legation in Buenos Aires), spent $100,000 yearly to maintain his position.[1]
Later career
After Carter left the diplomatic service, he joined Morgan, Harjes & Co. in Paris in 1912, where he lived for twenty-five years, becoming a partner in 1914. With the firm, he traveled to Santiago, Chile to represent American stockholders of the Chilean-Argentine railway.4 Following the death of Henry Herman Harjes in 1926, he was the senior partner of the firm, which was renamed Morgan & Cie.[4]
In 1887, Carter was married to Alice Morgan (1865–1933) in Washington, D.C.[8] Alice, one of seven children born to Carolyn (née Fellowes) Morgan and banker David Pierce Morgan, was the sister of William Fellowes Morgan Sr.[9] Together, they were the parents of:
His wife died at their home in Senlis, near Paris in 1933.[13] Carter died on June 4, 1944, at the Knickerbocker Club, his residence in New York City.[4] His funeral was held at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue.[14]
Legacy
Carter was painted by prominent American artist John Singer Sargent in 1901.[1] In May 1908, Sargent also painted a portrait of his daughter Mildred in London that was described at the time by The New York Times as "in the painter's best manner and brings out all of the innate sweetness of nature which has endeared Miss Carter to her English as much as to her American friends, all of whom agree that she has the wonderful tact and urbanity of her father."[15] In 2007, the portrait of John R. Carter sold at Sotheby's for $1,833,000.[2]