possessed the insight to appreciate its moral and material significance. After the exhibition closed, the board of directors, in recognition of his services, voted him a gold medal, and a number of prominent persons presented him $50,000 as "a perpetual commemoration of the sincere gratitude of the citizens of Philadelphia." With this fund, he founded the John Welsh chair of history and English literature in the University of Pennsylvania. On October 30, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Welsh minister to the United Kingdom, which he held until his resignation, August 31, 1879. He was instrumental in securing the release of a number of Fenian prisoners. As the representative of the United States, he paid to the British government $5,500,000 awarded by the Halifax Fisheries Commission. Upon his return home, he passed the remainder of his life in retirement. For 20 years he was a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and during that period contributed $80,000 to its endowment fund. He also gave $10,000 to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. He was made Knight-Commander of the Order of St. Olaf by the king of Sweden, and Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan, and Grand Officer of the Order of Nizan Iftakan by the bey of Tunis. The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the University of Pennsylvania in 1878, and by Washington and Lee University in 1880. He died in Philadelphia April 19, 1886. Family His son, Herbert Welsh, was prominent as a civil service reformer and Indian rights activist. References This article incorporates text from the public domain 1893 National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. External links The John Welsh papers, which include correspondence, financial records, prints, and other papers, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 1805 births 1886 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American businesspeople