James H. R. Cromwell

Who was James H. R. Cromwell?

James Henry Roberts Cromwell was an American diplomat, candidate for the United States Senate, author, and one-time husband of Doris Duke, "the richest girl in the world".

He was born in Manhattan on June 4, 1896 to Eva Roberts and Oliver Eaton Cromwell. His sister Louise Cromwell Brooks was the first wife of Douglas MacArthur and the third wife of Lionel Atwill. He grew up in Philadelphia after his widowed mother married Edward T. Stotesbury in 1912 and moved there.

Cromwell's first wife was automotive company heiress Delphine Ione Dodge, the only daughter of Horace Dodge of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, one of the two co-founders of the Dodge Motor Company. They had one daughter, Christine Cromwell, in 1922 and divorced in 1928.

In 1935, Cromwell married 22-year-old Doris Duke. Both supported Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal. He published books to present his economic ideas and advocated tighter control of the Federal Reserve. In 1940, for 142 days, he was the United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Canada. He resigned to enter the election for U.S. Senator from New Jersey, a race he lost.