Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician, diplomat and newspaper editor, as well as the author of Ohio in the War, a popular work of history.

He invested heavily in new technology, such as the Hoe rotary printing press and the linotype machine, but bitterly fought against the unionized workers for control of his shop.

As a famous voice of the Republican Party, he was honored with appointments as ambassador to France and Great Britain, as well as numerous other honorific positions.

[8] During the American Civil War, Reid wrote under the by-line "Agate",[9] acting as a correspondent at several battlefields, including the Battles of Shiloh and Gettysburg.

His account of the Battle of Shiloh contains tales of confusion, courage, and disaster narrowly averted, and was described as classic war reporting.

He emphasized the importance of partisan newspapers in a speech in 1879: During the Hayes and Garfield administrations, he was offered diplomatic posts in Germany, both of which he refused.

However, upon the election of President Benjamin Harrison, he was offered the role of United States Ambassador to France,[14] which he accepted and served as from 1889 to 1892.

[10] As ambassador, he rented the palace of the Duke of Gramont, in the Avenue Hoche in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, where he entertained extensively during his three years in office.

[7] In June 1902, he was again appointed a special envoy representing the United States at the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra,[17] along with J. Pierpont Morgan Jr., Edmund Lincoln Baylies, and William Wetmore, and brought his wife and daughter to London.

[18] The coronation was postponed, however, as the King fell ill, and the rescheduled ceremony in August took place after Reid (and most of the other international representatives) had returned home.

When a widely printed article co-written and co-signed by Édouard Drumont, Gaston Méry, and Max Régis that was translated into many languages was making the rounds in various European newspapers in the summer of 1898, Reid got many British celebrities including Arthur Henry Neumann, Percy Powell-Cotton, Harald George Carlos Swayne and Arthur Jephson to write a counter-letter advocating support for the American point of view.

[37] Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York, is located on his former Westchester County estate, which was leased to the King and Queen of Siam, Prajadhipok and Rambhai Barni, in 1931.