Kellogg, Frank Billings

Kellogg, Frank Billings, 1856–1937, American lawyer, U.S. Senator (1917–23), and cabinet member, b. Potsdam, N.Y. As a child, he moved to Olmstead co., Minn. He later studied law and held several municipal posts. He entered private law practice in St. Paul, Minn., where he became an outstanding corporation lawyer and gained stature in the Republican party. Appointed (1904) special counsel to the U.S. Attorney General, Kellogg played an important role in antitrust prosecution, particularly in the dissolution of the General Paper and the Standard Oil companies. As special counsel to the Interstate Commerce Commission, he was active in the investigation of the railroads controlled by Edward H. Harriman. Elected U.S. Senator, he was one of the few Republicans who supported the League of Nations, although he believed minor changes were needed to permit U.S. entry. After serving (1924–25) as ambassador to Great Britain, he succeeded (1925) Charles E. Hughes as Secretary of State. He bettered relations with Mexico and helped to settle the Tacna-Arica Controversy between Chile and Peru. Largely for his successful promotion of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, he was awarded the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize. He resigned his cabinet post in 1929 and afterward served (1930–35) as a judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice. He established a foundation for the study of international relations at Carleton College in Minnesota.

Bibliography

See biography by D. Bryn-Jones (1937); L. E. Ellis, Frank B. Kellogg and American Foreign Relations, 1925–1929 (1961).