Elihu Root

Born Clinton, Oneida County, N.Y., February 15, 1845; attended the common schools. Root graduated Hamilton College in upstate New York (where his father was a Professor), became an Attorney, was one of the most prominent attorneys in New York City, served as Secretary of War after the Spanish American War, then Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt, then US Senator, then a senior statesmen. As Secretary of War, Elihu Root essentially developed the U.S. Army as we know it today.