Dr. W. W. Yen (1877-1950)

W.W. Yen (also known as Yan Huiqing), Chinese diplomat and political leader, was born in Shanghai. He graduated in 1900 from the University of Virginia as the first international student to earn a bachelor of arts degree and the first Chinese student to earn a degree. In part because of his elite social class, he was welcome during a time of widespread anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. In the 1920s, Yen served the Republic of China as foreign minister and as prime minister, and he was briefly acting president in 1926. In the 1930s, he was ambassador to the U.S., representative to the League of Nations, and China’s first ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Department of Historic Resources, 2021