Cornwall Hart Loomis (1894-1924)

From the Washington Evening Star, June 20, 1924.

  Diplomat Cornwall Hart Loomis holds the sad distinction of being the shortest-lived public figure to be profiled here, as he died two months after his 30th birthday in 1924. Despite his brief longevity, Loomis carved a notable career for himself, being a Y.M.C.A. aid worker in Europe during World War I and after joining the foreign service, was appointed as U.S. Vice Consul in Calcutta, India. A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Cornwall Hart Loomis was born in that city on April 27, 1894, the eldest of five children born to George Cornwall and Nannie (Gould) Loomis. 

   Loomis's early education was obtained in the public schools of Parkersburg and later graduated from the Asheville, North Carolina high school. Following graduation, he took work as a salesman in Washington, D.C. from 1915-17 and entered government service as a clerk in the War Department from 1917-18. During the First World War Loomis served with the U.S. Quartermaster Corps in Europe from 1918-19, and following the close of the hostilities was affiliated with the Young Men's Christian Association as an aide in Czechoslovakia. 

  After his return to the United States Loomis entered into the foreign service and after passing  examination was named as clerk for the U.S. Consulate in Calcutta, India in January 1920. By November 1921 Cornwall Loomis had advanced to the post of Vice Consul in Calcutta, serving under Consul General Alexander Wilbourne Weddell (1876-1948). Loomis's two year residency in Calcutta saw his health begin to fail in 1923, and by the next year was back at home in Washington, D.C., where he died on June 20, 1924, aged 30.  

  Loomis's premature death was reported on by the Washington Evening Star, which noted that India's climate "is thought to have been responsible  for undermining his health, which resulted in his death." A lifelong bachelor, Cornwall Hart Loomis was survived by his parents, and all four of his siblings, and was interred at the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

From the Washington Evening Star, June 20, 1924.