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William Short (1759–1849) was an American diplomat during the early years of the United States. He served as Thomas Jefferson's private secretary when the latter was a peace commissioner in France, and remained in Europe to take on several other diplomatic posts. Jefferson, later the third President of the United States, was a lifelong mentor and friend. In a 1789 letter, Jefferson referred to Short as his "adoptive son."Short was an early member and president (1778–1781) of Phi Beta Kappa at the College of William & Mary and was elected to Virginia's Executive Council from 1783 to 1784. After serving as the U.S.'s chargé d'affaires in France during the French Revolution (1789–92). In 1792 he was appointed as America's Minister to the Netherlands, and from 1794 to 1795 he served as a treaty commissioner to Spain. In 1804, Short was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. Although his diplomatic career was not as celebrated or long as Short may have wished, and his love affair with a French noblewoman ended with her marrying another man, Short was a successful businessman and an opponent of slavery who died very wealthy in America.