John Milton Hay

Biography

John Milton Hay was one of the most influential American statesmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning his career as a private secretary to President Abraham Lincoln, he rose to become Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. His diplomatic achievements, including the Open Door Policy toward China and the Panama Canal negotiations, shaped American foreign policy for decades and established him as a towering figure in American statecraft.