WHEATON. Hens?, American jurist: b. Providence, R. I., V Nov. 1785; d. Dorchester, Mass., 11 Mardi 1848 He was graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1802, and studied law at Poitiers, France: he then took up the practice of law in Provi dence and later served as an editor and a jus tice; and in 1816 became reporter for the United States Supreme Court; his reports, which were published in 12 volumes, are ex ceptionally complete and valuable. In 1827 be was appointed chargé d'affaires to Denmark. being the first regular diplomatic agent from the United States to that country, and resided at Copenhagen until 1835, when he was ap pointed Minister Resident to the court of Prus sia. Two years later he was made Minister Plenipotentiari by President Van Buren, which office he retained until 1846. His diplomatic work was most successful; in 1844 he negotiated a treaty with Germany, which, though rejected by the United States Senate, served as a basis for subsequent treaties. In 1843 be was elected
a corresponding member of the French Insti tute, and in the following year a foreign mem ber of the Royal Academy of Science of Berlin_ He returned to the United States in 1847. His most important work is his 'Elements of Inter national Law,' published in 1836, which has always been regarded as a standard authority on the subject; numerous editions have ap geared in the United States, including one by Lawrence (1855) and one by Dana (1866): there is also an English edition and a French translation. His other writings include 4 Di gest of the Law of Maritime Captures or Prizes' (1815); (Life of Williams Pinkney' (1826); of the Northmen' (1831); 'Histoire du Droit du Gens en Europe, depuis la Paix de Westphalie jusqu'au Congres de Vienne' (1841) translated into English in 1846; and 'An Inquiry into the British Claim of a Right of Search of American Vessels' (1842).