Edwin Dun came to Japan in 1873 and served for ten years as agricultural expert for
Kaitakushi (the Development Commission) at Hokkaido. In 1884, he became Second Secretary of the U.S. Legation in Japan. Later he became First Secretary. He served as U.S. Minister to Japan from 1893 to 1897.
While Dun's contributions to Hokkaido agriculture are summarized in Dr. Shin'ichiro Takakura's
Short Biography of Edwin Dun [in Japanese], Dun's family and educational backgrounds have not been well known.
Based on research conducted in Ohio, this present study first confirms that Dun was born at Chillicothe, Ohio, and not at Springfield, Ohio, as has been commonly believed. The study then reveals that Dun's major at Miami University in Ohio was not Law or Agriculture, as has been assumed. The study discloses that he stayed only a year at Miami University and was in the English and Scientific Department, where the Latin and Greek languages were not required.
Dun seems to have gained practical knowledge of farming operations through the management of his family farm, not from Miami University. He taught himself basic veterinary medicine, most probably by using William Youatt's
Every Man His Own Cattle Doctor (1848) and other books.
Some people have puzzled over how a farmer like Dun could become a diplomat. This study reveals that his great uncle, R. G. Dun, head of Dun and Bradstreet, was instrumental in securing President Arthur's appointment of Dun to Second Secretary. It has been generally believed that Senator Allen G. Thurman, Dun's uncle-in-law, was involved in this appointment, but the study shows Thurman was influential only in Dun's promotion to Minister.
This study also suggests that Dun had close connections with fellow Ohioans living in Japan while he was there. These people include N. W. Holt, a machinist ; A. J. Bingham and D. W. Stevens, diplomats ; and M. C. Harris, a missionary.
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