John Lambert Cadwalader

John Lambert Cadwalader was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on November 17, 1836. He was the eldest son of General Thomas McCall Cadwalader (1795–1873) and Maria Charlotte Gouverneur (1801–1867). His family included siblings Emily Cadwalader, who was married to William Henry Rawle; Mary Cadwalader, wife of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell; Richard McCall Cadwalader, husband of Christine Biddle; and Maria Cadwalader, wife of John Hone. On his paternal side, his grandfather was Lambert Cadwalader, and his great-grandfather was Thomas Cadwalader. His maternal uncle was Samuel L. Gouverneur. His mother was related to Elizabeth (née Kortright) Monroe, wife of President James Monroe.

Cadwalader completed his undergraduate education at the College of New Jersey, graduating in 1856. He earned a Master of Arts degree from Princeton University in 1859 and was awarded an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1860.

His career included service as the United States Assistant Secretary of State from 1874 to 1877, serving under Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes, as well as Secretaries Hamilton Fish and William M. Evarts. In 1878, Cadwalader became a named partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a law firm established in 1792, which remains in operation under his name.

He was appointed a life member of the American Academy in Rome in 1905 and served as an adviser during the incorporation of the Academy. Between 1906 and 1907, he served as president of the New York City Bar Association. Additionally, he was an early trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In 1909, Cadwalader was mentioned as a possible successor to Whitelaw Reid as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President William Howard Taft, following recommendations by Attorney General George W. Wickersham, though Reid was retained.

His involvement with the New York Public Library was significant; he was elected the second president of the library, succeeding John Bigelow. Prior to this, he had served on the board of trustees and the executive committee, contributing to the development and planning of the library's consolidation of the Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foundations into a central institution. He was deeply involved in designing the library building's plans.

Cadwalader also served as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he donated furnishings of his East 56th Street residence to the museum. From 1903 until his death, he was a trustee of the Carnegie Institution. He was depicted by John Singer Sargent in 1912. His memberships included the Society of the Cincinnati, Sons of the Revolution, American Fine Arts Society, and the American Museum of Natural History. He also belonged to numerous clubs, including the Century Association, Union League Club, Lawyers' Club, Union Club, Metropolitan Club, Knickerbocker Club, Princeton Club, and New York Yacht Club.

Cadwalader never married. He was a member of the board of the New York Zoological Society (now Wildlife Conservation Society).

He died on March 11, 1914, at his residence at 3 East 56th Street in Manhattan, at the age of 77. Following a funeral at Grace Church in Manhattan, he was interred at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia. In his will, he provided that each of the clerks in the law firm Strong & Cadwalader, who had worked there for at least five years prior to his death, receive a sum equivalent to six months' wages.