Alberto de Foresta

Alberto de Foresta was born in Nice in 1851. He moved from the judiciary into diplomacy in 1876 and served in several European and American posts before Washington. ¹

At the 1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, de Foresta proposed universal time for science, railways, steamships, telegraphy, and postal services while retaining local or national time for everyday life. ²

As acting chief of mission, he also confronted controversy over Italian contract labor. He criticized an 1886 congressional proposal against imported Italian laborers, arguing that existing legislation already addressed the abuse and that singling out Italians would damage their reputation. ¹

De Foresta later represented Italy in Stockholm. Appointed in 1904, he was the last Italian envoy accredited to the united Swedish–Norwegian monarchy before the union dissolved in 1905. He died in service in February 1906. ^{3, 1}