British Diplomacy from the Unification of Germany to the Spanish Civil War, 1863-1939

Esmé Howard (1863-1939) was an influential British diplomat during the early 20th century. As a young man, he worked as private secretary to the British ambassador in Berlin and witnessed the forging of the recently unified Germany. During the 1900s, he held various diplomatic positions in Crete, Budapest, and Berne and between 1913 and 1919 he was posted to Stockholm and was mainly trusted with tackling blockade diplomacy during the First World War. The zenith of his career occurred between 1924 and 1930, when he was a successful British ambassador to the United States. Upon his retirement in 1930 he was elevated to the House of Lords for his work in Washington.

This collection contains extensive material collected over the fascinating and fruitful life of Esmé Howard. This includes a plethora of personal correspondence with important figures, further correspondence, memorandum, and other material from his many diplomatic occupations, his personal diaries, and files documenting his personal estate. As such, the collection offers a compelling account of British diplomacy during and after the First World War.

Esme Howard was one of the major British diplomatists of the early part of the twentieth century. Howard's abilities led him to hold from 1913 to his retirement in 1930 a series of important posts, culminating in the Washington embassy

Erik Goldstei, Boston University

Insights

His papers from 'the Psychological Warfare Division on opinion in Sicily' review that division's uses. These items explore whether it might be a good idea to continue some of the division's research after the war.

During his time as a diplomat, Howard's diaries covered his work in a range of countries. From South Africa between the first and second Boer Wars, to Crete between Greece's two wars to claim the island.

The 'Personal Records' also contain extracts from Howard's diary during the Versailles Conference which followed the First World War.

Howard's work also led him to correspond with Ramsay MacDonald, Theodore Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw and the former Irish prime Minister Liam Cosgrave, as well as many other diplomatic contacts.