The Romanian Consulate in New York shared on social media the story of George Pomuț (George Pomutz, born Gheorghe Pomuț), the Romanian-American who facilitated the sale of Alaska to the US. Despite his role in US history, the Romanian is largely unknown today, the Consulate noted.
Pomuț was born in the Hungarian town of Gyula, in an ethnic Romanian family, and fought in the 1848 Revolution. After the defeat, he fled to the United States to escape the death sentence. Once there, he enlisted in the American Civil War as a volunteer for the Union and rose to the rank of brigadier general.
He joined a freemason, was initiated into the Scottish Rite, and frequented the Pythagoras Lodge, according to Atlantico.fr.
“After the war, the American president Andrew Jackson appointed him US Consul General in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His mission was to maintain good relations with the Tsar. In 1867, Russia wanted to sell Alaska because it feared it would lose it anyway to the English, without receiving anything in return,” the Consulate said in the post.
Despite US skepticism about the largely barren strip of land, George Pomuț led the secret negotiations. The Romanian, who spoke 8 foreign languages, convinced Russia to sell a territory of 1.7 million km² (7 times the size of Romania) for USD 7.2 million, about 2 cents per acre. Adjusted for inflation, that would be USD 113-160 million today, the same source said.
The sale of Alaska was signed on March 30, 1867, and became the best investment in US history. Shortly after, gold and oil were discovered in the frozen lands. Today, the value of the resources extracted from Alaska exceeds hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
George Pomuț remained in Russia after completing his mandate, being highly respected there. He died in 1882, in Saint Petersburg, poor, after donating much of his fortune, and was buried in the Smolensk cemetery.
In 1944, at the height of World War II, Romanian Americans launched a public fundraising campaign to finance a US Navy ship. The government accepted the donation. The Liberty Ship SS George Pomuț set sail, weathered the fighting, and remained in service until 1970.
To mark George Pomuț and his deeds, the Romanian Scottish Rite presented the United States Congress with an exceptional portrait of George Pomuț, displayed in a 19th-century Florentine frame.
radu@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Facebook/Consulate General of Romania in New York)
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