WILLIAM CAMERON FORBES

Forbes, William Cameron (1870-1959) — also known as W. Cameron Forbes — Born in Milton, Norfolk County, Mass., May 21, 1870. He was the son of William Hathaway Forbes, president of the Bell Telephone Company, and of Edith Emerson, a daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Forbes received an LL.D. from Bates College in 1932. U.S. 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 and an investment banker. Member, Council on Foreign Relations. He died unmarried in December 24, 1959.

Sources:
United States Federal Census
Vital Records
The Political Graveyard
Submitted by Deborah Crowell