"Getting Things Done": Ambassador Jefferson Caffery's Life as a United States Diplomat Main Menu Ambassador Caffery's Journey Follow the tour or zoom into locations on your own. All points are either specific to the document or the American Embassy of Caffery's current position. Timeline of Appointments All locations in StoryMap labelled in Blue. Click a location and scroll to see the related documents. Collection of Documents All images from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Archives, Jefferson Caffery Collection Contact Maggy Case

Ambassador Jefferson Caffery

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Ambassador Jefferson Caffery was born on December 1, 1886 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated from UL Lafayette, then the Southwestern Industrial Institute, in 1902, and from Tulane University in 1906. Caffery worked around the world as an American diplomat from 1911 to 1955. During his first appointments in Venezuela, Sweden, Persia, and France, he worked in supporting roles. After seeing over the distribution of aid in the aftermath of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 in Japan, Caffery was officially promoted to a head ambassador role in 1926. For 29 years, Caffery provided aid to areas in need of rebuilding and compromise. Caffery eventually left his last post in Cairo, Egypt in 1955 to retire in Rome. During his retirement, Caffery acted as the honorary private chamberlain to three different popes. A year before his death, Caffery and his wife moved home to Lafayette. 

My project aims to provide a glimpse into the life of Ambassador Caffery during his time as a diplomat. I begin in Tokyo in 1923, and follow Caffery through each position as head minister in Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, France, and Egypt. Through the Jefferson Caffery Collection of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Acadiana Manuscript Collection, I use newspaper and magazine articles, pictures, and official documents to create a tour of Caffery's postings. I aim to put a face to a name that so many residents of Acadiana recognize.