Cyrus Woods was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 and politician.

He was born September 3, 1861 in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. He attended Lafayette University and was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon

Delta Kappa Epsilon

Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...

 fraternity there (Rho chapter). He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a law degree in 1889. He practiced law in Philadelphia and then in Pittsburgh, where he became associated with the interests of the Mellon family.

He served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal (1912-1915).

He served as Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain (1921-1923).

He served as Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. He presented his credentials on July 21, 1923, and left Japan on June 5, 1924. During his time in Japan, he organized the American relief effort in response to the devastating 1923 Great Kantō earthquake

1923 Great Kanto earthquake

The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...

.

Cyrus E. Woods died December 8, 1938 in Philadelphia, where he had gone for medical treatment.

Cyrus Woods married Mary Todd Marchand on January 18, 1893. They had no children. After his death, his widow established a foundation which became the Westmoreland Museum of American Art

Westmoreland Museum of American Art

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is an art museum in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, devoted to American art, with a particular concentration on the art of southwestern Pennsylvania....

.