Richard Olney

Richard Olney
Olney c. 1890
34th United States Secretary of State
In office June 10, 1895 – March 5, 1897
President	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	Walter Q. Gresham
Succeeded by	John Sherman
40th United States Attorney General
In office March 6, 1893 – June 10, 1895
President	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	William H. H. Miller
Succeeded by	Judson Harmon
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 2nd Norfolk district
In office January 7, 1874 – January 6, 1875
Preceded by	Robert Seaver
Succeeded by	Joseph S. Ropes
Personal details
Born	(1835-09-15)September 15, 1835 Oxford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 8, 1917(1917-04-08) (aged 81) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Agnes Park Thomas
Education	Brown University (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Signature

Richard Olney (September 15, 1835 – April 8, 1917) was an American attorney, statesman, and Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the second cabinet of President Grover Cleveland as the 40th United States Attorney General from 1893 to 1895 and 34th Secretary of State from 1895 to 1897.^[1]

As attorney general, Olney used injunctions against striking workers in the Pullman strike, setting a precedent, and advised the use of federal troops, when legal means failed to control the strikers.

As Secretary of State, Olney mediated the Venezuelan crisis of 1895 and managed Cleveland's anti-expansionist policy in response to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the Cuban War of Independence, though both Hawaii and Cuba were annexed during the subsequent William McKinley administration. He raised the status of America in the world by elevating U.S. diplomatic posts to the status of embassy.