Jean Jules Jusserand

Ambassador Jusserand

Quick Facts

Significance:

Author and Diplomat

Place of Birth:

France

Date of Birth:

February 18, 1855

Place of Death:

Paris, France

Date of Death:

July 18, 1932

Place of Burial:

Sain-Haon-le-Chatel

What does a French diplomat have to do with Rock Creek Park and why is there a memorial to him here?

Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand was born in France to a wealthy family. He was determined from a young age to learn about new cultures and gain as much knowledge as he could. He attended boarding schools and university in France and studied literature, science, law and history and was deemed an excellent student. He graduated with degrees in history and law and even pursued (and received) a doctorate in history.

Jusserand's international career began in 1878 when he was a student-consul in London. By 1882, he was the partner of the Minister of France in Tunisia. This was in part due to his literary achievements. While there, he became known as a respected diplomat and would hold several positions in numerous countries.

In 1902, he was named Ambassador to the United States. He took up the position officially on February 7, 1903.

Over the course of Theodore Roosevelt's administration, Jules Jusserand became a frequent visitor to Rock Creek Park. The president enjoyed visiting the park and would often go on point-to-point hikes. Few could keep up with him, but Jusserand would. These "steeplechase hikes" were the talk of many Washingtonians. 

In 1905, Jusserand used all of his diplomatic skills and influence with Roosevelt to "save the peace" in Morocco. 

Jusserand became Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in May 1913. It was a position he held until 1925.

He was also integral in the United States' involvement in World War I. Though the opinions of the American public were divided, he urged President Woodrow Wilson to get involved. Though the United States initially claimed neutrality, the country eventually entered the war in 1917. Jusserand was quoted as saying "For the first time, a neutral nation has decided to enter the conflict without prior bargaining, without having laid down a condition." Jusserand was so trusted by Wilson that when the president traveled to Paris for the Paris Peace Conference, Jusserand went with him.

Ambassador Jusserand and his wife were frequent visitors to the park and often took tea at the Peirce Mill Tea House. In 1915, an article in The Washington Post detailed an oppressively still and quiet summer in the nation's capital. 

"The French Ambassador and Mme. Jusserand both delight in tea at Pierce Mill. Before the weather became too warm, the Ambassador walked to the mill and Mme. Jusserand drove out and met him there."

Other than being a frequent visitor of Rock Creek Park and Peirce Mill, Ambassador Jusserand and his wife presided over the dedication of the Joan of Arc statue in Meridian Hill Park along with President and Mrs. Harding.

Jusserand's service spanned five presidencies and 22-years. He retired in 1925 and returned to France.

Jusserand died of kidney disease in 1932. Almost immediately, a memorial commission came together with the intent of honoring the great diplomat. A memorial bench, constructed of pink granite, was approved by an Act of Congress in 1935. It was decided that the bench should be placed in Rock Creek Park, due to the love that the Ambassador had for the park.

The bench, erected at no cost to the United States, was dedicated on November 7, 1936. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his wife, Eleanor, and Jusserand's widow, were in attendance. In his dedication address, Roosevelt stated, 

"Almost we can say - that he was a great American as well as a great Frenchman. We shall link Mr. Jusserand’s name forever with the names of Lafayette and Rochambeau and De Grasse and the other valiant Frenchmen whose services in this country entitle them for all time to the grateful remembrance of all Americans.”