The US has great ties with Mongolia, a vast nation with a small, partly nomadic population sandwhiched between two superpowers. Ulanbattar has even sent a even small contingent of peacekeepers to Iraq, the first time Mongolian soldiers have been in Baghdad since Helegu Khan destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate in the 1250s.
George Bush is the first US president to visit Mongolia, but a US vice president visited the country many decades ago in his tour of the region. Anyone know who he was and when he visited? No googling/cheating!
About Curzon
Lord George Nathaniel Curzon (1859 - 1925) entered the British House of Commons as a Conservative MP in 1886, where he served as undersecretary of India and Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Viceroy of India at the turn of the 20th century where he delineated the North West Frontier Province,
ordered a military expedition to Tibet, and unsuccessfully tried to partition the province of Bengal during his six-year tenure. Curzon served as Leader of the House of Lords in Prime Minister Lloyd George's War Cabinet and became Foreign Secretary in January 1919, where his most famous act was
the drawing of the Curzon Line between a new Polish state and Russia. His publications include
Russia in Central Asia (1889) and
Persia and the Persian Question (1892).
In real life, "Curzon" is a US citizen from the East Coast who has been a financial analyst, freelance translator, and university professor; he is currently on assignment in Tokyo.
I have no idea, but if you’re into presidential quizzes, try this “one”:http://www.catsdogs.com/veepquiz.html
I have no idea, but my WAG is Spiro Agnew. If Nixon went to China, Agnew was probably sent to Mongolia.
Agnew is too obvious. I’m going with Rockefeller.
I ‘ll guess Henry Wallace (FDR’s 2nd Veep who was dumped from the ticket in 1944 for being a creepy fellow-traveller) – he toured Siberia and Mongolia was a stone’s throw.
Mark is correct! Wallace did indeed enter Mongolia on his 1944 trip.
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The whole point of historical training is savoring moments like these :O)
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Mark,
If Wallace and not Truman had followed Roosevelt, how much harm could he have done?
(An actual question — I can guess, but I have never seen anyone knowledgable address it).
I have seen it written about in several books and articles over the years, with most people from across the political spectrum answering, “a complete disaster.”