Wellington Koo and Eleanor Roosevelt

There is a story about former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who sat through an official luncheon next to a Chinese official she had not met before.

Although he was well-dressed and obviously of some importance, he never spoke.

The First Lady therefore assumed his English must be poor. Finally, she thought to begin the conversation by talking about the meal.

Mrs Roosevelt asked: "Likee soupee?" The man nodded and smiled graciously. Minutes later, the same man rose to give the keynote speech of the day in perfect English.

Returning to his seat, China's Ambassador to the U.S. and Harvard Law School graduate Wellington Koo (顾维钧) smiled broadly at the red-faced Mrs. Roosevelt and asked, "likee speechee?"

Hahaha.

Koo was acting president of China from 1926-7 and later represented China at the League of Nations to protest the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. He was also one of the founding members of the United Nations in 1945.

Koo was also China's most experienced and respected diplomat. He died in New York City in 1985 at the age of 98.