William Penn Cresson

William Penn Cresson (September 17, 1873 – May 12, 1932) was an American architect, author, diplomat, and husband of sculptor Margaret French Cresson (1889–1973).

Early life and education William Penn Cresson was in Claymont, Delaware, on September 17, 1873. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania from 1895 until graduation in 1897. Shortly after graduation, Cresson moved to France to study at the influential École des Beaux-Arts until 1902, when he went on to become a student at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques.

Career Cresson arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1905 where he practiced Architecture for two or three years.

In 1907, Cresson left Washington to become a cattle rancher in Nevada, where he worked for two years.

When the war ended, he continued his service as a Major in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps – as well as accepting a post as Assistant Professor of International Law in Princeton University. Later Cresson went on to become a professor of International Law at Tufts College working for the Fletcher School.

Private life By the end of 1920, Cresson was engaged to well-known sculptor Margaret French, the daughter of Daniel Chester French. The couple traveled to Taormina, Sicily to spend the winter – before the marriage ceremony in January 1921. The attendance included the then US Ambassador to Italy; Robert Underwood Johnson, Mrs. Johnson, and Councillor of the US Embassy at Rome; Franklin M. Gunther – who served as Cresson's best-man.

They maintained homes in both Washington, D.C., and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Cossacks, Their History and Country ( The Holy Alliance, The European Background of the Monroe Doctrine Diplomatic Portraits Francis Dana, a Puritan Diplomat at the Court of Catherine the Great