# Nicholas Fish II

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{{Short description|American diplomat}}
{{For|his grandfather, soldier, (1758—1833)|Nicholas Fish}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name             = Nicholas Fish II
| image            = Diplomat Nicholas Fish II.jpg
| ambassador_from  = United States
| country          = Belgium
| term_start       = April 28, 1882
| term_end         = July 3, 1885
| predecessor      = [James O. Putnam](/source/James_O._Putnam)
| successor        = [Lambert Tree](/source/Lambert_Tree)
| ambassador_from2 = United States
| country2         = Switzerland
| term_start2      = June 20, 1877
| term_end2        = May 11, 1881
| predecessor2     = [George Schneider](/source/George_Schneider_(banker))
| successor2       = Michael J. Cramer
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1846|2|19}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1902|9|16|1846|2|19}}
| birth_place      = [New York City](/source/New_York_City)
| death_place      = [New York City](/source/New_York_City)
| resting_place    = [Saint Philip's Church Cemetery](/source/St._Philip's_Church_in_the_Highlands)<br/>[Garrison, New York](/source/Garrison%2C_New_York)
| party            = [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States))
| alma_mater       = [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)<br/>[Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School)
| parents          = [Hamilton Fish](/source/Hamilton_Fish) (1808–1893)<ref name="1893Tribute">{{cite news|title=City's Tribute to Hamilton Fish.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/09/14/archives/citys-tribute-to-hamilton-fish.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=14 September 1893}}</ref><br>Julia Ursin Niemcewiez ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Kean) Fish (1816–1887)<ref name="1893Tribute">{{cite news|title=City's Tribute to Hamilton Fish.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/09/14/archives/citys-tribute-to-hamilton-fish.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=14 September 1893}}</ref>
| spouse           = {{marriage|Clemence Smith Bryce<ref name="MrsNFObit1908">{{cite news|title=MRS. NICHOLAS FISH DIES IN WASHINGTON; Widow of New York Banker and Diplomat Succumbs to a Second Stroke of Apoplexy. MOTHER OF HAMILTON FISH Her Son Was Killed in the Spanish War—Social Rival of Her Sister-in-Law, Mrs. Stuyvsant Fish.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/12/12/archives/mrs-nicholas-fish-dies-in-washington-widow-of-new-york-banker-and.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=12 December 1908}}</ref><br>|1869|<!-- Omission per Template:Marriage instructions -->}}
| children         = 2, including [Hamilton Fish II](/source/Hamilton_Fish_II_(Rough_Rider))<ref name="1898Funeral">{{cite news|title=HAMILTON FISH'S FUNERAL; Buried with Military Honors After Impressive Services in St. Mark's Church. WOUNDED SOLDIERS PRESENT Interment at Garrisons-on-the-Hudson, Where Volleys Were Fired Over the Grave and "Taps" Were Sounded.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/07/30/archives/hamilton-fishs-funeral-buried-with-military-honors-after-impressive.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=30 July 1898}}</ref>
| profession       = Lawyer, diplomat, banker
}}
'''Nicholas Fish II''' (February 19, 1846&ndash;September 16, 1902) was an American diplomat who served as the [U.S. ambassador to Switzerland](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_Switzerland_and_Liechtenstein) from 1877 to 1881 and the [U.S. ambassador to Belgium](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_Belgium) from 1882 to 1885.  In a widely reported crime of the time known as the "sensation of the day,"<ref name="1902Murder"/> Fish was murdered while leaving a New York City bar.<ref name="Herringshaw1909"/><ref name="1902Killing">{{cite news|title=NICHOLAS FISH WAS KILLED BY VIOLENCE; Coroner, After Autopsy, Says a Fall Not Sufficient. THREE ARRESTS IN THE CASE Private Detective Sharkey Held in $10,000 Bail and Two Women Detained as Witnesses of the Fatal Quarrel.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/09/17/archives/nicholas-fish-was-killed-by-violence-coroner-after-autopsy-says-a.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=17 September 1902}}</ref>

Fish was a member of the long prominent, and wealthy, [Fish family](/source/Fish_family) that was closely associated with politics from the [Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) times through modern times with members serving as Lt. Governors and Governors of New York, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and many diplomats.<ref name="Herringshaw1909"/>

==Early life==
Fish was born in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) on February 19, 1846.  He was the eldest son of six children born to [Hamilton Fish](/source/Hamilton_Fish) (1808–1893) and Julia Ursin Niemcewiez ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Kean) Fish (1816–1887).<ref name="1893Tribute">{{cite news|title=City's Tribute to Hamilton Fish.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/09/14/archives/citys-tribute-to-hamilton-fish.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=14 September 1893}}</ref>  His father served as [Governor of New York](/source/Governor_of_New_York) from 1849 to 1851, [U.S. Senator from New York](/source/U.S._Senator_from_New_York) from 1851 to 1857 and the [Secretary of State](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_State) under Presidents [Ulysses S. Grant](/source/Ulysses_S._Grant) and [Rutherford B. Hayes](/source/Rutherford_B._Hayes) from 1869 until his retirement in 1877.<ref name="1902Killing"/>  His siblings included Sarah Morris Fish, Julia Kean Fish, Susan Le Roy Fish, [Hamilton Fish II](/source/Hamilton_Fish_II), [Stuyvesant Fish](/source/Stuyvesant_Fish), and Edith Livingston Fish.<ref name="1902Killing"/>

His maternal uncle was U.S. Senator [John Kean](/source/John_Kean_(New_Jersey)) and he was a great-grandson of [Continental Congress](/source/Continental_Congress)men [John Kean](/source/John_Kean_(South_Carolina)) and Susan Livingston Kean (herself the daughter of [New York State Treasurer](/source/New_York_State_Treasurer) [Peter Van Brugh Livingston](/source/Peter_Van_Brugh_Livingston)).<ref name="Livingston1910"/>  Her family was also associated with the Wadsworths, the Kings, and the Duers.<ref name="1902Killing"/>  His paternal grandparents were [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) soldier [Nicholas Fish](/source/Nicholas_Fish) and Elizabeth (née Stuyvesant) Fish,<ref name="1902Killing"/> a descendant of [Peter Stuyvesant](/source/Peter_Stuyvesant) and the daughter of Margaret (née Livingston) Stuyvesant.<ref name="Livingston1910">{{cite book|last1=Livingston|first1=E. Brockholst|title=The Livingstons of Livingston Manor; Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar Which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and also including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants|date=1910|publisher=The Knickerbocker Press|isbn=9785872064213|page=541|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=698IAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA541|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en}}</ref>

He was educated at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), earning a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) in 1867 and a [Master of Arts](/source/Master_of_Arts) in 1871.<ref name="Columbia1902">{{cite book|title=Columbia University Quarterly, Vol. 5|date=1902|page=249|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUEjAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA249|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en}}</ref> While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).<ref>{{Bairds01|section=Delta Psi|pages=59-61}}</ref>

He also attended [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School) earning a [Bachelor of Laws](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws) in 1869.<ref name="Harvard1903">{{cite book|last1=Thayer|first1=William Roscoe|last2=Castle|first2=William Richards|last3=Howe|first3=Mark Antony De Wolfe|last4=Pier|first4=Arthur Stanwood|last5=Voto|first5=Bernard Augustine De|last6=Morrison|first6=Theodore|title=The Harvard Graduates' Magazine|date=1903|publisher=Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association|page=307|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDJYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
Following his graduation from law school, he practiced law in New York City, then went into the diplomatic service.<ref name="Herringshaw1909"/>

Appointed as the Second Secretary of Legation at [Berlin](/source/Berlin) (1871), he became Secretary (1874) and acted in the continued absence of his chief as [chargé d'affaires](/source/charg%C3%A9_d'affaires), held the latter position in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) (1877–81) and then served as minister to [Belgium](/source/Belgium) (1882–86). He returned to New York City in 1887 and became a member of the banking firm of [Harriman & Co.](/source/Harriman_%26_Co.) at 120 Broadway, of which his brother Stuyvesant was the President.<ref name="Herringshaw1909"/>

Following the death of his father, he became a member of the New York [Society of the Cincinnati](/source/Society_of_the_Cincinnati) in 1894 and later served as president of the New York Society from 1901 until his death the next year.<ref name="Herringshaw1909"/> He was also a member of the [New-York Historical Society](/source/New-York_Historical_Society) and the [Union Club of the City of New York](/source/Union_Club_of_the_City_of_New_York), beginning in 1873.<ref name="1902Killing"/>

In the [1896 presidential election](/source/1896_United_States_presidential_election_in_New_York), he was a [presidential elector](/source/United_States_Electoral_College).<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nnc1.cu54374480|title=Proceedings of the Electoral College of the State of New York, January 11th, 1897|year=1897|location=Albany|pages=29|hdl=2027/nnc1.cu54374480}}</ref>

==Family==
In 1869, Fish married Clemence Smith Bryce (1847–1908),<ref name="MrsNFObit1908">{{cite news|title=MRS. NICHOLAS FISH DIES IN WASHINGTON; Widow of New York Banker and Diplomat Succumbs to a Second Stroke of Apoplexy. MOTHER OF HAMILTON FISH Her Son Was Killed in the Spanish War—Social Rival of Her Sister-in-Law, Mrs. Stuyvsant Fish.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/12/12/archives/mrs-nicholas-fish-dies-in-washington-widow-of-new-york-banker-and.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=12 December 1908}}</ref> the daughter of Major James Smith Bryce.<ref name="1902Killing"/>  She was the sister of [Lloyd Stephens Bryce](/source/Lloyd_Bryce), a member of the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/U.S._House_of_Representatives) and [U.S. Minister to the Netherlands](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_the_Netherlands),<ref name="1879BryceWedding">{{cite news|title=A BRIGHT MAY WEDDING; MARRIAGE OF MISS COOPER AND MR. L.S. BRYCE. THE SCENES AND SERVICES AT ALL SOULS' CHURCH RECEPTION AT THE HOUSE OF MR. PETER COOPER A FEW OF THE GUESTS.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1879/06/01/archives/a-bright-may-wedding-marriage-of-miss-cooper-and-mr-ls-bryce-the.html|access-date=23 May 2017|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=1 June 1879}}</ref> who was married to [Edith Cooper](/source/Edith_Cooper_Bryce),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/55219411/ |title=Mrs. Bryce's Estate Left to Family |date=7 June 1916 |publisher=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=18 October 2015}}, page 8</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/06/07/archives/mrs-bryce-left-3000000-husband-and-son-principal-beneficiaries.html |title=Mrs. Bryce Left $3,000,000. Husband and Son Principal Beneficiaries Under Will. |date=7 June 1916 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref> the daughter of New York Mayor [Edward Cooper](/source/Edward_Cooper_(mayor)). Together, they were the parents of two children:

* Elizabeth Fish (1870–1954),<ref name="ESCPObit1954">{{cite news|title=Mrs. R. B. Potter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/08/archives/mrs-r-b-potter.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=8 October 1954}}</ref> who married Robert Burnside Potter, an architect who was the son of Maj. Gen. [Robert Brown Potter](/source/Robert_Brown_Potter) and the nephew of Bishop [Henry Codman Potter](/source/Henry_Codman_Potter), in 1889.<ref name="1902Killing"/>
* [Hamilton Fish II](/source/Hamilton_Fish_II_(Rough_Rider)) (1873–1898), who was a member of the [Rough Riders](/source/Rough_Riders) in the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War), and was killed at the [Battle of Las Guasimas](/source/Battle_of_Las_Guasimas).<ref name="1898Funeral">{{cite news|title=HAMILTON FISH'S FUNERAL; Buried with Military Honors After Impressive Services in St. Mark's Church. WOUNDED SOLDIERS PRESENT Interment at Garrisons-on-the-Hudson, Where Volleys Were Fired Over the Grave and "Taps" Were Sounded.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/07/30/archives/hamilton-fishs-funeral-buried-with-military-honors-after-impressive.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=30 July 1898}}</ref>

Together, they lived at 53 [Irving Place](/source/Irving_Place) near [Grammercy Park](/source/Grammercy_Park) in New York City<ref name="1894Abuse">{{cite news|title=HE ABUSED BANKER FISH.; A Mendicant Turns On a Torrent of Vicious Language When Refused Alms.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/01/17/archives/he-abused-banker-fish-a-mendicant-turns-on-a-torrent-of-vicious.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=January 17, 1894}}</ref> and maintained a residence in [Tuxedo Park, New York](/source/Tuxedo_Park%2C_New_York).<ref name="1902Killing"/>

===Death and burial===
Fish was fatally assaulted in New York City on September 16, 1902, after spending several hours in the company of two women at the Ehrhard Brothers saloon at 265 [West 34th Street](/source/34th_Street_(Manhattan)), off of Eighth Avenue.<ref name="1902Murder">{{cite news|title=NICHOLAS FISH FOUND SENSELESS, DIES LATER; Skull Fractured After a Visit to a Saloon. Mrs. Fish at the Banker's Bedside in Roosevelt Hospital Until the End – How He Received His Injuries a Mystery.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/09/16/archives/nicholas-fish-found-senseless-dies-later2-skull-fractured-after-a.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=16 September 1902}}</ref>  According to ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', the two women he was with that night "were well known in that vicinity. They live in West Thirty-fourth Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and are usually accompanied by two men, one a salesman of jewelry."<ref name="1902Murder"/>  Fish died from blunt force trauma to the head after being struck while exiting the saloon.<ref name="1902Sharkey">{{cite news|title=CORONER HOLDS SHARKEY FOR KILLING MR. FISH; Two Witnesses Testify to Seeing Fatal Blow Struck. Women in the Banker's Company Say They Went Away When Fatal Quarrel Was Started.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/09/23/archives/coroner-holds-sharkey-for-killing-mr-fish-two-witnesses-testify-to.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=23 September 1902}}</ref><ref name="1902Witness">{{cite news|title=ANOTHER FISH CASE WITNESS.; Sharkey Says He Struck but One Blow – The Funeral at St. Mark's.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/09/18/archives/another-fish-case-witness-sharkey-says-he-struck-but-one-blow-the.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=18 September 1902}}</ref>  Thomas J. Sharkey was convicted of [manslaughter](/source/manslaughter) and subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison. Fish was buried at [Saint Philip's Church](/source/St._Philip's_Church_in_the_Highlands) Cemetery in [Garrison, New York](/source/Garrison%2C_New_York).<ref name="Herringshaw1909">{{cite book|last1=Herringshaw|first1=Thomas William|title=Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States; Illustrated with Three Thousand Vignette Portraits ...|date=1909|publisher=American Publishers' Association|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JL3TAAAAMAAJ/page/n436 452]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JL3TAAAAMAAJ|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en}}</ref>  In 1903, his widow sold their home in Irving Place.<ref name="1903Sale">{{cite news|title=IN THE REAL ESTATE FIELD; Dealings Confined to Small Properties – Mrs. Fish Sells Irving Place Residence – Auction Results.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/07/29/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-dealings-confined-to-small-properties-mrs.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=29 July 1903}}</ref> She died in 1908.<ref name="MrsNFObit1908"/>

===Descendants===
Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was the grandfather of Hamilton Fish Potter (d. 1978), a member of the [New York State Assembly](/source/New_York_State_Assembly),<ref name="HFPObit1978">{{cite news|title=Hamilton F. Potter, An Ex‐Assemblyman From L.I., Dies at 77|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/28/archives/hamilton-f-potter-an-exassemblyman-from-li-dies-at-77-served-on.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=28 June 1978}}</ref> and the great-grandfather of Hamilton Fish Potter, Jr. (d. 1997), also a Harvard lawyer who worked in banking.<ref name="HFPObit1997">{{cite news|title=Hamilton F. Potter, 68, Lawyer Who Represented Leading Banks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/31/business/hamilton-f-potter-68-lawyer-who-represented-leading-banks.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=31 March 1997}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{NIE Poster|Fish, Nicholas (diplomatist)|Nicholas Fish II}}
*{{Find a Grave|18942733}}

{{US Ambassadors to Belgium}}
{{US Ambassadors to Switzerland}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Nicholas II}}
Category:1846 births
Category:1902 deaths
Category:Bankers from New York City
Category:Columbia University alumni
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Nicholas
Category:Winthrop family
Category:People murdered in New York City
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Switzerland
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium
Category:Deaths by beating in the United States
Category:19th-century American diplomats
Category:People murdered in 1902
Category:People from Gramercy Park
Category:1896 United States presidential electors
Category:19th-century American businesspeople
Category:St. Anthony Hall

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nicholas Fish II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Fish_II) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Fish_II?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.