Francis B. Keene was a United States

United States

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

 diplomat and a politician in the State of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

Biography

Keene was born Francis Bowler Keene on December 11, 1856 to Rev. David Keene and Susan Elizabeth (Bowler) Keene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

. On November 8, 1893 he married Emerin Price Semple.

Career

Keene was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1899 to 1902. From 1903 to 1905 he served as U.S. Consul in Florence, Italy, and in Geneva, Switzerland from 1905 to 1915. He served as U.S. Consul General in Zurich, Switzerland from 1915 to 1917, followed by Rome, Italy from 1917 to 1924. Aside from politics, he worked as an engineer, a coal sales agent, and a newspaper editor.