James H. R. Cromwell

James Henry Roberts Cromwell (June 4, 1896 – March 19, 1990) was an American diplomat, candidate for the United States Senate, author, and one-time husband of Doris Duke, "the richest girl in the world".[1] He was the United States Ambassador to Canada.

This article is about an American diplomat. For the American actor, see James Cromwell.

James H. R. Cromwell
6th United States Ambassador to Canada
In office
January 25, 1940 – May 25, 1940
PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt
Preceded byDaniel Calhoun Roper
Succeeded byJay Pierrepont Moffat
Personal details
Born
James Henry Roberts Cromwell

(1896-06-04)June 4, 1896
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 19, 1990(1990-03-19) (aged 93)
Mill Valley, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Delphine Ione Dodge
(m. 1920; div. 1928)
​
​
(m. 1935; div. 1943)​

Maxine MacFetridge
​
​
(m. 1948; died 1968)​

Germaine Benjamin
​
​
(m. 1971; died 1986)​
Children3
RelativesLouise Cromwell Brooks (sister)
Oliver Eaton Cromwell, Jr. (brother)

Life and career
Lucretia Bishop "Eva" Roberts

He was born on June 4, 1896, in Manhattan, the son of Lucretia Bishop "Eva" Roberts and Oliver Eaton Cromwell. His sister Louise Cromwell Brooks was the first wife of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the third wife of the famous stage and film actor Lionel Atwill. He grew up in Philadelphia after his widowed mother married Edward T. Stotesbury in 1912 and moved there.[2]

Cromwell's first wife was automotive company heiress Delphine Ione Dodge, the only daughter of Horace Dodge of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, one of the two co-founders of the Dodge Motor Company. They were married from June 17, 1920, until their divorce on September 28, 1928, and had one daughter, Christine Cromwell, in 1922.

On February 13, 1935, Cromwell married Doris Duke.[2] Both supported Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal. He published books to present his economic ideas and advocated tighter control of the Federal Reserve.[1] In 1940, for 142 days,[3] he was the United States Ambassador to Canada. He resigned to enter the election for U.S. Senator from New Jersey, a race he lost to incumbent Senator William Warren Barbour.[4] After bitter and protracted legal proceedings Cromwell and Duke divorced on December 21, 1943.

Cromwell was married to his third wife, Maxine MacFetridge, from April 24, 1948,[5] until her death on July 7, 1968.[6] Their daughter, Maxine Hope Cromwell (later Hopkins[7]), was born in New York on November 17, 1948.[8] Germaine Benjamin was Cromwell's fourth and last wife, from September 27, 1971, until her death in December 1986.[1]

Cromwell died in the Marin Terrace retirement home in Mill Valley, California, at the age of 93.[1]

Books by Cromwell

References
  1. Fowler, Glenn (March 23, 1990). "James H. R. Cromwell Dies at 93. Married 'Richest Girl in World'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2007. James H. R. Cromwell, a wealthy businessman who was briefly a politician and diplomat and best known in the 1930s and 40s as the husband of the richest girl in the world, Doris Duke, died of a pulmonary ailment on Monday at the Marin Terrace retirement home in Mill Valley, Calif. He was 93 years old.
  2. Pony Duke. Too Rich.The Family Secrets of Doris Duke. HarpersCollins, 1996. p. 83ff.
  3. "U.S. Chiefs of Mission to Canada". Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa. June 29, 2005. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved July 3, 2007.
  4. "Moffat to Ottawa". Time. June 10, 1940. Retrieved July 3, 2007.
  5. James Cromwell Marries Maxine MacFetridge Here, Wash. Post, Apr. 25, 1948, p. S1.
  6. Mrs. Cromwell, Wife of Diplomat, Wash. Post, July 9, 1968, p. B4 (obituary).
  7. Maxine Cromwell Is Married To Dale Hopkins at St. James' , N.Y. Times, Dec. 2, 1974, p. 39.
  8. Daughter Is Born To J.H.R. Cromwells, Wash. Post, Nov. 18, 1948, p. 3.
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