William Walter Phelps (August 24, 1839 – June 17, 1894) was a United States Congressman and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Germany and Austria-Hungary.
He was the son of John Jay Phelps, a successful New York City merchant and financier. Prior to being elected to the United States House of Representatives he had a successful banking career in Manhattan, settling in Teaneck, New Jersey, across the Hudson River.
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Early life
William Walter Phelps was born in New York City on August 24, 1839. His first school experience was at Mount Washington Institute in New York. Phelps then attended private school at Golden Hill near Bridgeport, Connecticut, where his academic advancement was so rapid that he was fully prepared for college at the age of 15.
He graduated from Yale College in 1860, valedictorian of his class and a member of Skull and Bones. In the same year he married Ellen Maria Sheffield of New Haven, Connecticut. They traveled in Europe, where, in Paris, in 1861, their first child, John Jay II, was born. Phelps attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1863. Following this, he practiced corporate law in New York City. In 1864, their second child, Sheffield, was born.