THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 113 posthumously. The first new biography of Rockhill (1854-1914) in more than 50 years, it details his impact on U.S.-China relations. Born in Philadelphia, Rockhill was educated in France, graduated at 19 from Saint-Cyr, France’s West Point (where he studied Tibetan), and served two years as a French Foreign Legion officer before returning to the United States. After a brief ranching stint—likely the only New Mexico rancher to translate Tibetan sutras by lantern light— he entered diplomatic service. Rockhill’s career spanned postings in China, Russia, Türkiye, and Greece, though his heart remained in Asia. In 1888 he tempor- arily left diplomacy to explore Mongolia and Tibet, collecting artifacts and manuscripts. He served as an assistant secretary of State and as U.S. ambassador to China (1905-1909). Ambassador Rockhill helped shape the U.S. Open Door Policy of 1899-1900, supporting U.S., Chinese, and East Asian interests. Thousands of his documents and artifacts remain in the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. In an October 1978 article for The Foreign Service Journal (“What Is Public Diplomacy?,” page 31), Wimmel wrote that the U.S. government should “encourage, aid, and sponsor the broadest possible exchange of people and ideas between our country and other nations.” Like Rockhill, Kenneth Wimmel embodied this principle. n
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