David Rowland Francis was an American politician. He served in various positions including Mayor of Saint Louis, the 27th Governor of Missouri, and United States Secretary of the Interior. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Russia between 1916 and 1917, during the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was a Wilsonian Democrat. His biographer summarizes his personality
Francis was born in Richmond, Kentucky, on October 1, 1850, the son of Eliza Caldwell and John B. Francis. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1870 where he was number two on the rolls of the Alpha Iota Chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was a successful businessman in St. Louis and served as the president of the Merchants Exchange.
Source: Wikipedia