Evening star., 1924-03-28
FORMER U. S. ENVOY
FOUND DEAD IN BED
John G. A. Leishman Rose to Mil
lionaire From Orphan
Asylum.

dead In bed yesterday. Death, was
attributed by physicians who eX-
amined him to cerebral congestion.
a servant.
Wednesday night Mr. Leishman ap-
peared to be in his usual health. His
daughters, one of whom is in Aus
tralia and the other in Germany, and
his son, who is in Paris, have been
summoned here.
From an orphan asylum TO mil
1ionaires mansion and thence 10 an
embassy of the United States is, in
brief. the story of John G.. a. Leish-
mans extraordinary career. He was
born at Pittsburgh, March 2S, 1857,
and spent his early years in an or
phan asylum. His first employment
and his next in the iron and steel mill
of the Schoenberger Company. There
he remained for many years, learning
all the details of the business, work
ing his way toward the top of it and
accommodating competence which
grew into a fortune. In 1916 he
was the senior member of the firm of
Leishman & Snyder, steel brokers.
and in the latter year, having at
tracted the attention Of Andrew Car
negie and Henry c. Frick. he became
vice president of Carnegie Brothers
e. Co.
Assassination Attempted.
During the great Homestead strike
in 1892 at attempt was made to assas-
sinate him at the same time that
similar attack was made upon Mr..
Frick In 1897 the Carnegie firm was
Company and he was made its first
president. ranking conspicuously
among the "Pittsburgh millionaires.'
But his tenure of that place was brief.
In the same year President Mckinley
appointed him minister to Switzer-
land. He resigned his place at the
head of the Carnegie company to
Charles NJ. Schwab. He remained in
Switzerland with little TO do until De-
cember. 1900. when he was promoted
to be minister 10 Turkey. There he
was successful in securing for Amer
ican citizens and American schools
the rights of those of the most ia
vored nation" and in gaining direct
access to the sultan for official inter
views. His grade was raised from
minister to ambassador in 1906. In
1909 he was transferred TO the en-
bassy at Rome and in 1917 to that at
Berlin. where he remained until his
final retirement from public life in
1918. He and his family were con-
spiCuous socially at the German CAPT
tai. and he departed from the general
custom of American ambassadors and
ministers BY appearing at state re-
ceptions in a most elaborate court at
tire.
Won Kaiser's IlI-wiII.
During his service at Berlin he was
reported to have engaged in heavy
stock speculations, but no official ac-
tion was taken in the matter. He in
CURED the ill-will of the then en-
'peror, William Hohenzollern, by sane
tioning the marriage Of his daughter.
Miss Nancy Leishman. TO the Duke of
Croy. a Prussian officer. The en-
peror opposed the match because the
bride was not of noble" blood. The
outcome of it was that the duke re-
tired from the Prussian army, and
Mr.. Leishman. at the end of his term
of service. left Berlin without saying
goodbye 10 the "all highest" For
some time thereafter Mrs. Leishman
and her children lived in Paris. while
Mr.. Leishman disappeared from pub
lie view. He was then involved in
much litigation in this country and
permitted some suits to go against
him by default.
Mr.. Leishman was married in 1880
to Miss Julia Crawford, who died at
Monte Carlo in 1918. His elder daugh-
ter. Miss Martha Leishman. in 1904
was married to Count Louis de Con
taut-Biron of France. a cousin of
Count Boni de Castellane. Her sec
formerly of New York and son of the
founder of the Equitable Life Assur-
ance Society. Mr.. Leishman's son,
John g. \. Leishman. jr.. married in
Italy in 1911 Miss Helene NJ Demar-
est of New York