The Tycoon’s Ambassadors: Captain Du Pont and the Japanese Embassy of 1860

In 1860, a delegation of 76 Japanese men traveled to the United States on an ambassadorial mission. They were the first Japanese to leave their homeland in more than 200 years. In The Tycoon’s Ambassadors: Captain Du Pont and the Japanese Embassy of 1860, Thomas ’43 and Sidney Marshall tell the story of that trip, following the delegation and their guide, Captain Samuel Francis Du Pont, from glamorous New York City balls to Washington negotiation rooms. Thomas Marshall, who now is deceased, served in the Navy during World War II and worked at the Du Pont Company.