Frederick T. Frelinghuysen

Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817 – May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur.

Frelinghuysen was born in Millstone, New Jersey, and was adopted by his uncle Theodore Frelinghuysen after his father's death. He graduated from Rutgers College and studied law under his uncle. Frelinghuysen was involved in various political roles, including serving as a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention and as Attorney General of New Jersey. He was also appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate.

In 1870, Frelinghuysen was nominated as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom but declined the position. He served again as a U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1877, and in 1881, was appointed U.S. Secretary of State by President Chester A. Arthur, serving until 1885. During his tenure, he withdrew the U.S. from the War of the Pacific and negotiated a treaty change with Hawaii, allowing for a naval base at Pearl Harbor.

After his term as Secretary of State, Frelinghuysen returned to Newark, New Jersey, where he died less than three months later. He married Matilda Elizabeth Griswold in 1842, with whom he had six children. Frelinghuysen University in Washington, D.C. was named in his honor in 1917.