Nathan Appleton, Jr. (1843-1906) was the son of Massachusetts state legislator,
Nathan Appleton, Sr. After graduating from Harvard University in 1863, Appleton
became a junior second lieutenant for the United States Army. He went on to fight in
the American Civil War, but suffered an injury in 1864 that forced his discharge.
Appleton then traveled throughout Europe, becoming heavily involved in the promotion
of free trade. He began advocating for a shipping passageway between the Pacific and
Atlantic oceans after meeting Ferdinand de Lesseps, principal developer of the Suez
Canal, in 1869. The two formed a long working relationship. While serving as
President of the U.S. Board of Trade in 1879, France hired de Lesseps as President
of the Panama Canal Company. Subsequently, Appleton spent eight years working for
that company as an American agent. Unfortunately for Appleton, de Lesepps' attempt
to build a sea-level canal through Central America failed due to the project's
limited financial backing and various outbreaks of disease. Appleton died in 1906,
eight years before the U.S. finished the Panama Canal.
