Burlingame, Anson

Burlingame, Anson

(1820–70) U.S. representative, diplomat; born in New Berlin, N.Y. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (Free-Soil, Mass.; 1855–59, Repub., Mass.; 1859–61). He was ambassador to China (1861–67) where he deeply impressed the Chinese with his integrity and helpfulness. In 1867, China appointed him the head of their first diplomatic mission to Europe. He died in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.