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"The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything."
— E.J. Phelps (1822–1900)
E.J. Phelps
Edward John Phelps was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician. He was born on 11 July 1822 in Middlebury, Vermont, and he died on 9 March 1900 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Phelps had a distinguished legal career before entering into politics. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1840 and then went on to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and started practising law in Vermont. He gained recognition for his legal abilities and became known as a skilled trial lawyer.
In 1851, Phelps was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he served for one term. He later moved to Burlington, Vermont, where he continued his legal practice and became involved in local politics.
During the American Civil War, Phelps served as a delegate to the 1864 Republican National Convention. After the war, he was appointed as the U.S. Minister to the Court of St. James (Great Britain) by President Ulysses S. Grant, a position he held from 1881 to 1885. His tenure as Minister to Britain was marked by his efforts to improve Anglo-American relations, particularly in resolving disputes related to fishing rights.
Phelps returned to the United States and became involved in Connecticut politics. He served as a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention and was a member of the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed presidential election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden.