, 1893. After receiving an education at the common schools in Ohio, he served as engrossing clerk of the
Indiana House of Representatives from 1874 to 1875. After
William McKinley became president, he kept Buchanan on, even though he was a
Democrat and the new president was a Republican. Once
Panama separated from
Colombia in 1903, he was appointed by President
Theodore Roosevelt on December 17, 1903, to serve as
United States Minister to Panama.
Later career Buchanan was Director General of the
Pan-American Exposition, held in
Buffalo, New York, from May 1 through November 2, 1901, and is credited with the construction, operation, and dismantling of the exposition. He was chosen by
John G. Milburn, president of the exposition, as the exposition was planned with a Latin American theme and they wanted someone who knew the South American countries well. President McKinley was
assassinated at the exposition by anarchist
Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901, and Roosevelt traveled to Buffalo where he was
inaugurated shortly thereafter. In 1908 as special commissioner in Venezuela and by forbearance, tact, an understanding of the people with whom he was to negotiate and a masterly knowledge of the cases themselves, he succeeded in settling two of the cases, namely, the case of the
New York & Bermudez Company and recovered all indemnity for the expulsion of A.F. Jaurett. At the time of his death, he was connected with the
Westinghouse Company in London. ==Personal life==