Elihu Root

Root, Elihu (1845–1937), U.S. statesman. He reorganized the command structure of the army as war secretary (1899–1904) under President William McKinley, and as Theodore Roosevelt's secretary of state (1905–9) he oversaw administration of the new possessions won from Spain. A champion of the League of Nations and the World Court, he won the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize. He was a New York Republican senator (1909–15).