Background
Born at Cave Springs, Arkansas, Dinsmore was the son of Alexander Winchester and Catherine Anderson Dinsmore.
Diplomat politician representative
Born at Cave Springs, Arkansas, Dinsmore was the son of Alexander Winchester and Catherine Anderson Dinsmore.
He attended private schools in Benton and Washington Counties.
They had one son, Hamilton. And though Elizabeth died on June 19, 1886, he never remarried. Dinsmore worked as a store clerk and later a traveling salesman for a Saint Louis firm.
Deciding to become a lawyer, he persuaded Samuel North. Elliott of Bentonville to proctor him.
In 1872 Governor Elisha Baxter appointed him the eleventh Benton County Circuit Court clerk. In 1878, he was elected prosecuting attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, and served until 1884.
In January 1887, Dinsmore was appointed by President Cleveland as Minister Resident and consul general to the Kingdom of of Korea and served until May 25, 1890. Dinsmore succeeded in getting Rhee a brief meeting with Secretary of State John Hay, but Rhee"s mission would ultimately end in failure.
After he resumed the practice of law in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Dinsmore was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-third and to the five succeeding Congresses.
He served from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1905. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and in later years devoted most of his time to the management of his farming interests.
Dinsmore died in Saint Louis, Missouri, on May 2, 1930 (age 79 years, 129 days).
He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
He served as member of the board of trustees of the University of Arkansas.