Henry Cabot Lodge was born in Boston on 12th May, 1850. Educated at Harvard University and in 1876 was awarded a Ph.D. in political science. Lodge taught at Harvard and was assistant editor of the North American Review.

Lodge was elected to the state legislature (1880-81), the House of Representatives (1887-93) and the Senate (1893-1924). After the split with Theodore Roosevelt, Lodge led the conservative wing of the Republican Party. A staunch critic of Woodrow Wilson, Lodge complained about the way the administration organised the war effort.

When in November, 1918, the Republican Party gained control of Congress, Lodge, was able to obstruct Wilson's policies. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Lodge led the campaign against the ratification of the Versailles Peace Treaty and membership of the League of Nations. Lodge organised the passing of a series of amendments that would require the approval of Congress before the United States would be bound by certain decisions of the League. Woodrow Wilson refused to accept Lodge's amendments and the measure was defeated.

In 1921 Lodge served as one of the USA's delegates to the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armaments. Henry Cabot Lodge died on 9th November, 1924.