Joel Roberts Poinsett

Poinsett, Joel Roberts (poin'sĕt), 1779-1851, American diplomat and politician, b. Charleston, S.C. In 1810 he was sent as a special commissioner to South America to investigate political conditions of the countries struggling for independence. He served in the South Carolina legislature, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1821-25), and later was minister (1825-29) to Mexico. A strong opponent of nullification, he was Secretary of War (1837-41) under Martin Van Buren. He introduced the flowering plant called the poinsettia (named after him) into the United States.

Bibliography

See biography by J. F. Rippy (1935, repr. 1972).