DALLAS, GEORGE MIFFLIN

George Mifflin Dallas was born July 10, 1792, to statesman ALEXANDER JAMES DALLAS. He graduated from Princeton University in 1810 and was admitted to the bar three years later.

In 1813, statesman Albert Gallatin was dispatched to Russia for the purpose of securing Russian aid in negotiating an end to the WAR OF 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Dallas performed the duties of secretary to Gallatin and was commissioned in 1814 by the American delegates at the Ghent Peace Conference to relay the terms of peace to the British.

Dallas returned to Philadelphia and served as deputy attorney general before becoming mayor in 1829 for a three-year period. He also acted as U.S. district attorney, and in 1831, he entered the federal government.

Dallas filled a vacancy in the U.S. Senate and represented Pennsylvania until 1833; in that same year, he also performed the duties of attorney general of Pennsylvania and continued in this capacity until 1835.

In 1837, Dallas again acted as a diplomat, serving as emissary to Russia. Eight years later, he was elected as U.S. vice president during the

administration of JAMES K. POLK. His term lasted until 1849, and in 1856, he returned to foreign service, acting as minister to Great Britain until 1861. During his tenure Dallas was instrumental in the negotiations that resulted in the formation of the Dallas-Clarendon Convention of 1856, for the purpose of arbitrating disputes concerning Central America between the United States and Great Britain.

Dallas died December 31, 1864, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.