Peter Augustus Jay

Peter Augustus Jay (August 23, 1877 – October 18, 1933) was an American diplomat who served as U.S. General Consul to Egypt, U.S. Minister to El Salvador and Romania and U.S. Ambassador to Argentina.

Early life Jay was born on August 23, 1877, in Newport, Rhode Island, to Augustus Jay (1850–1919) and Emily Astor (née Kane) Jay (1854–1932). His younger brother was DeLancey Kane Jay (1881–1941).

His paternal grandparents were Josephine (née Pearson) Jay and Peter Augustus Jay, himself the son of Peter Augustus Jay, a member of the New York State Assembly and Recorder of New York City, and grandson of John Jay, Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice. His maternal grandparents were DeLancey Kane and Louisa Dorothea (née Langdon) Kane. His maternal uncles included DeLancey Astor Kane, Commodore S. Nicholson Kane, and Rough Rider Woodbury Kane, all cousins of John Jacob Astor IV. Jay studied at Eton College in England and graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in 1900.

Career In 1902, he began a career with the U.S. Foreign Service as the third secretary of the American embassy in Paris followed by service in Constantinople as second secretary. On March 18, 1925, he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Argentina by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1928, he was appointed the American member of the Permanent International Commission established under the treaty between the United States and Spain on September 15, 1914.

Jay died at his home, 1815 Q Street in Washington, D.C., on October 18, 1933.