Lawrence Waldemar Tonner (October 15, 1861 – May 25, 1947) was an 1870 immigrant from Denmark who became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1875.
Tonner met Jesse Shepard/Francis Grierson in 1885 and became his companion and personal secretary for more than 40 years, while they traveled and lived together in Europe and the United States.
Tonner began his career as a translator in 1892 for the U.S.
government in London, and was an aide and translator for Herbert Hoover after World War I.