Charles Francis Adams

(1807–1886), son of John Quincy Adams, was a statesman and author. As minister to Great Britain, 1861–68, Adams adroitly handled the difficult problems that the Civil War created between Great Britain and the United States, such as the Trent affair. He thus helped to prevent Britain from recognizing and giving assistance to the Confederacy. Adams served as one of the United States arbitrators at the Geneva Tribunal that settled the Alabama Claims against Great Britain, 1871–72.

Adams was born in Boston. He attended schools in Russia and in England, when his father was United States minister to those countries. In 1825 he graduated from Harvard. Adams was admitted to the bar in 1829, having studied law in the office of Daniel Webster, but never practiced. He was elected to the Massachusetts legislature as a Whig in 1840 and served until 1845. In 1848 he was the Vice Presidential candidate of the Free Soil party. From 1859 to 1861, Adams served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican.

Adams edited and published the letters of Abigail Adams (1840–41), Works of John Adams (10 volumes, 1850–56), and Memoirs of John Quincy Adams (12 volumes, 1874–77).