McLane, Robert M.

Born: 1815-06-23 Wilmington, Delaware

Died: 1898-04-16 Paris, France

Son of Louis McLane, Robert M. McLane was an army officer, politician, and diplomat. He received his early education at St. Mary's College of Baltimore, the College Bourbon of Paris, and at various private schools in Wilmington, Delaware. In July 1833, McLane received appointment to the U.S. Military Academy. In July 1837, he graduated thirty-seventh in a class of fifty, and the War Department commissioned him as a second lieutenant in the First U.S. Artillery. He served with his unit in the Second Seminole War. In July 1838, McLane transferred to the Corps of Topographical Engineers, serving in that branch until his resignation from the Army in November 1843. Returning to civilian life, McLane read law, earned admission to the Maryland bar, and opened a law practice in Baltimore. While practicing law, McLane also moved into Maryland state politics. From 1845 to 1847, he was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. In 1846, Maryland voters elected McLane as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from March 1847 to March 1851. Not a candidate for reelection in 1850, McLane returned to his law practice. During the presidential election of 1852, he was a presidential elector for the Democratic Party. In October 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed McLane commissioner, with the powers of a minister plenipotentiary, to China, a position he held until April 1855. McLane was a delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention. In March 1859, President James Buchanan appointed him envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Mexico. McLane remained in Mexico until November 1860, when he returned and resumed his law practice. During the Civil War, he practiced law in Baltimore. After the war, McLane enjoyed an extensive political and diplomatic career, including a stint as governor of Maryland.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1496-97; George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, 3rd ed. (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891), 1:691; Gravestone, Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, MD.