Forbes, William Cameron

Forbes, William Cameron, 1870–1959, American business executive and diplomat, b. Milton, Mass. He entered the mercantile house of his grandfather, John Murray Forbes, in Boston and was a partner in the firm after 1899. Appointed (1904) to the Philippine Commission by President Theodore Roosevelt, he held several administrative posts there before he served (1909–13) as governor-general of the islands. He was a member of the Wood-Forbes Commission, which was sent (1921) by President Harding to the Philippines. He was later (1930) chairman of a commission to study conditions in Haiti, served (1931–32) as ambassador to Japan at the time of the Manchurian crisis, and led (1935) an economic mission to East Asia.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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