Elbert E. Farman

Elbert Eli Farman, Sr. (April 23, 1831 – December 30, 1911) was an American diplomat. He served as United States consul general in Egypt and a judge in the international commission that responded to the bombardment of Alexandria. In the United States, he is best known for his role in arranging the gift of the Cleopatra's Needle, now in New York, from Isma'il Pasha of Egypt to the United States.

Life and career Farman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating from Amherst College, he studied international law in Berlin and Heidelberg. By his own account, the acquisition was nearly a single-handed effort, however, after the US State Department appeared to have lost interest. After considerable setbacks, he concluded negotiations in 1879. Egypt and its Betrayal (1908) contains a condemnation of England's attempt to acquire "a New Empire" and the "deceptive" journalism that supported English claims to have modernized the country. His final work was a thorough genealogy of his family. The Farmans had two children, Lois and Elbert, Jr., and, through Lois, one grandchild, Robert C. Richardson 3rd.