John Milton Hay

Born Oct. 8, 1838, in Salem, Ind.; died July 1, 1905, in Newbury. N.H. US statesman and diplomat.

Hay was educated as a lawyer. He served as ambassador to Great Britain from 1897 to 1898, and in the latter year he became secretary of state. Hay was one of the chief figures responsible for the imperialistic expansion of the USA around the turn of the 20th century. He helped negotiate the Paris Peace Treaty of 1898, which ended the Spanish-American War. In 1899, Hay proclaimed the Open Door policy in regard to China. He was also associated with the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, the Hay-Herrán Treaty of 1903, and the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, all of which concerned the construction and status of the future Panama Canal.