Life

John Lambert Cadwalader was born in Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

, on November 17, 1836. His father was General Thomas McCall Cadwalader

Thomas McCall Cadwalader

-Life:Thomas McCall Cadwalader was born on the family estate called Greenwood in Trenton, New Jersey on September 11, 1795. His father was Lambert Cadwalader and mother was Mary McCall ; he was their only child, except for a brother who died in childhood.His cousin Elizabeth Cadwalader married...

 (1795–1873).
On his paternal side, his grandfather was Lambert Cadwalader

Lambert Cadwalader

Lambert Cadwalader was an American merchant and leader in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He fought in the Revolutionary War, then represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress and the U.S. Congress.-Early life:...

 (1742–1823) and his great-grandfather was Thomas Cadwalader

Thomas Cadwalader

Thomas Cadwalader was an American physician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After studying medicine with his uncle Dr. Evan Jones, he traveled to London to study medicine. He lived for a while near Trenton, New Jersey, where he became the chief burgess in 1746. After returning to Philadelphia, he...

 (1708–1779).
His mother was Maria Charlotte Gouverneur (1801–1867), who was sister of Samuel L. Gouverneur

Samuel L. Gouverneur

Samuel Laurence Gouverneur was a lawyer and civil servant who was both nephew and son-in-law to the fifth President of the United States.-Life:...

 (1799–1867), and niece of Elizabeth (Kortright) Monroe (1768–1830), the wife of US President James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

.

He graduated from Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 in 1856, then obtained an MA degree in 1859 from Princeton, and LLD from Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

 in 1860.

He served as United States Assistant Secretary of State

United States Assistant Secretary of State

In modern times, Assistant Secretary of State is a title used for many executive positions in the United States State Department. A set of six Assistant Secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions, plus one...

 from 1874 to 1877. In 1878 he became a name partner of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the oldest continuously operating law firm in the Wall Street

Wall Street

Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...

 area, which still carries his name. In 1905 he became a life member of the American Academy in Rome

American Academy in Rome

The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...

, where he acted as an adviser during the Academy's incorporation

Incorporation (business)

Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

 process. From 1906 to 1907, he served as president of the New York City Bar Association.
He was an early trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States...

.

He died in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on March 11, 1914.
He was a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

, and left the furnishings of his home on east 56th street to the museum.