William Christian Bullitt Jr. (January 25, 1891 – February 15, 1967) was an American diplomat, journalist, and novelist. He is known for his special mission to negotiate with Lenin on behalf of the Paris Peace Conference, often recalled as a missed opportunity to normalize relations with the Bolsheviks. He was also the first U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union and the U.S. ambassador to France during World War II. In his youth, he was considered a radical, but he later became an outspoken anticommunist.
Early years
Bullitt was born to a prominent Philadelphia family, the son of Louisa Gross (née Horwitz) and William Christian Bullitt Sr. His family was of French descent. His ancestor Joseph Boulet, a Huguenot, had fled Nîmes in 1629. Joseph Boulet settled in St. Mary's City in the English colony of Maryland in 1634, and the family later angelized its surname to Bullitt. His grandfather was John Christian Bullitt, founder of the law firm today known as Drinker Biddle & Reath. John C. Bullitt, was a noted lawyer who was the preferred legal counsel for Jay Cooke, a choice of client that made him into a very rich man. On his maternal side, Bullitt was descended from Haym Salomon, a Polish Jew who settled in Philadelphia in 1778. The descendants of Salomon later converted to Episcopalism in the 19th century, and Bullitt's mother, Louisa Horwitz, was despite her surname an Episcopal.
Bullitt's upbringing was cosmopolitan. Members of his family lived in the main European capitals, and he learned French and German at a very young age. As a boy, Bullitt spent every summer on a grand tour of Europe. Despite his upbringing, he always saw himself as an American first. Bullitt was staying in Paris during the Spanish-American War. During the war, he hung an American flag on the window of his room of his parents' Paris house to show his support for his country and wanted to attack the Spanish embassy in Paris, which his parents forbade, saying that as a seven year old, he was too young to take part in the war. As a child, he was considered a rebellious and rambunctious youth who tended to associate with the "bad boys" as his parents called the boys from poor families. As a teenager, he developed an obsession with one day being president as he wrote in private school: "I'm going to be a lawyer and Governor and Secretary of State and President". As a student, he was considered to be intelligent, charming and funny, but with a fierce combative streak along being very egoistical. Bullitt did not hesitate to use his family's wealth to achieve his ambitions and when one of his private school teachers accused him of cheating on an exam, Bullitt had his father use his influence to have the teacher fired.