History
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Joel Roberts Poinsett was born in Charleston, S.C., and became a statesman, diplomat, author, and naturalist. Educated in medicine, military science, and law, he traveled extensively in Asia and Europe. He served as a U.S. commissioner concerned with the independence of South American colonies, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the first U.S. minister to Mexico, and as Secretary of War in Van Buren's Cabinet. From Mexico he introduced to this country a species of the Euphorbia plant later named poinsettia in his honor. He died on December 12, 1851, in the 73rd year of his life, and was remembered as a pure patriot, an honest man, and a good Christian. His wife Mary, the relict of the Honorable Joel R. Poinsett, died on November 9, 1857, in the 76th year of her age.
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Stateburg, South Carolina · United States
