Importer/Diplomat
Centurion, 1880–1905
Born 7 December 1827 in Ipswich, Massachusetts
Died 14 December 1905 in North Atlantic, At Sea
Buried Highland Cemetery
, Ipswich, Massachusetts
Proposed by Richard Morris Hunt and William W. Parkin
Elected 1 May 1880 at age fifty-two
Archivist’s Note: Brother of Albert F. Heard. He died of natural causes aboard the steamship König Albert between Gibraltar and the Azores while en route from Genoa to New York.
Seconder of:
Century Memorial
Augustine Heard was a representative of the old fashioned class of American international business men. Born in Ipswich, Mass., in 1827, and a graduate of Harvard in 1847, he entered business in China and was the first foreigner to avail himself of the commercial treaty with Siam as early as 1850. Later he resided for many years in Europe and in China, in connection with English, French, and Russian enterprises and interests in the latter country. In 1890 he was appointed by President Harrison, Minister to the then Hermit Kingdom of Corea [Korea], a post for which he was peculiarly fitted, but which he was obliged to resign after three years because of his failing health. Mr. Heard, when in New York, was always at home in The Century, where he had a large circle of associates. He united with the tact and courtesy of the man of the world and the diplomatist a delightful simplicity and kindliness.
Edward Cary
1906 Century Association Yearbook
