Return J. Meigs, Former Postmaster General

The eighth U.S. Postmaster General, Return J. Meigs (1764–1825), is the final individual portrayed in the series of eight wooden medallions carved for the reception room in the New Post Office Headquarters Building.  During Meigs’ tenure (1814–1823), the post office rapidly expanded to double its size.  In 1812, the United States had 2,610 post offices and 39,378 miles of post roads; eight years later, the number of post offices had increased to 4,500 and there were 72,491 miles of post roads.  In 1820 alone, Meigs established more than 500 new post offices in the western states.  Meigs resigned in 1823 due to his failing health. Shortly thereafter, President James Monroe appointed John McLean his successor.

Russian-American sculptor Gleb W. Derujinsky was born to aristocratic parents in Smolensk, Russia, in 1888.  A student of Rodin, Derujinsky studied at the Académie Julian in Paris and the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.  After the Russian Revolution, he departed Crimea as a sailor on a ship bound for America.  Derujinsky arrived in the U.S. in 1919, and soon established himself as a prominent sculptor in New York.  Among his best known works are portrait busts of presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.