Biography

William J. Stillman was an American journalist, diplomat, author, historian and photographer. He was originally trained as an artist, but moved to become a journalist, primarily as a war correspondent in Crete and the Balkans, where he also dabbled in photography for his articles. He also was a United States Ambassador for a time, serving first in Rome and then in Crete after the Cretan insurrections. Stillman also wrote several books and seems to have considered himself primarily as a writer. Stillman was as associate of Charles Sumner, who is referenced in Stillman's biography "The Last Amateur: The Life of William J. Stillman." Sumner and others petitioned WHS for Stillman to receive the Rome consulship, saying that he was "an accomplished scholar and artist, an experienced traveler, an earnest and consistent Republican." Although the petition remained unlooked at for many months due to busy preparations for the Civil War, Stillman was eventually appointed the consulship.