Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 31, 2022

John Hay (1838–1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. After graduation from Brown University in 1858, Hay read law in his uncle's office in Springfield, Illinois, adjacent to that of Abraham Lincoln. Hay worked for Lincoln's successful presidential campaign, and became his assistant private secretary. Through the American Civil War, Hay was close to Lincoln, and stood by his deathbed after Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. In 1897, President William McKinley made him the ambassador to Britain. The following year, Hay became the U.S. secretary of state. He served almost seven years, first under McKinley before his assassination, and then under Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was responsible for the Open Door Policy in China. To clear the way for the building of the Panama Canal, he negotiated the 1901 Hay–Pauncefote Treaty with the United Kingdom, the 1903 Hay–Herrán Treaty with Colombia, and the 1903 Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama.