Frank Knox | |
|---|---|
_(b).jpg) Knox,c. 1943 | |
| 47thUnited States Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office July 11, 1940 – April 28, 1944 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Charles Edison |
| Succeeded by | James Forrestal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Franklin Knox (1874-01-01)January 1, 1874 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 1944(1944-04-28) (aged 70) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Annie Reid |
| Education | Alma College (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1898 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Spanish–American War • Battle of Las Guasimas • Battle of San Juan Hill World War I |
William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, soldier, newspaper editor, and publisher. He was theRepublicanvice presidential candidate in 1936 andSecretary of the Navy underFranklin D. Roosevelt during most ofWorld War II.
Born inBoston, he attendedAlma College and served with theRough Riders during theSpanish–American War. After the war, he became a newspaper editor inGrand Rapids, Michigan, and state chairman of the Republican Party. He was a leading supporter ofTheodore Roosevelt, the Progressive candidate for president in 1912. He advocated U.S. entrance intoWorld War I and served as an artillery officer in France. The1936 Republican National Convention nominated a ticket ofAlf Landon and Knox, and they were defeated byRoosevelt andJohn Nance Garner in the 1936 election.
After World War II broke out in 1939, Knox supported aid to theAllies. In 1940, Roosevelt appointed him as Secretary of the Navy in hopes of building bipartisan support. Knox brought inJames Forrestal as the under secretary. They presided over a massive naval buildup but were dissatisfied by the confused chain of command in Hawaii. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Knox brought in a much more aggressive admiral,Ernest J. King. Roosevelt worked closely with King and largely neglected Knox. During the war, Knox continued his supervision of theChicago Daily News, while Forrestal expanded his role and supervised the nonmilitary aspects of the department in terms of contracts and recruitment.[1] Knox served as secretary of the Navy until his death in 1944, when Forrestal replaced him.
William Franklin Knox was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were bothCanadian; his mother, Sarah C. (Barnard), was fromCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and his father, William Edwin Knox, was fromNew Brunswick.[2] When he was nine, his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where his father ran a grocery store. He attended Alma College in Michigan, where he was a member of the Zeta Sigma fraternity. He left in his senior year to join theUS Army for the Spanish–American War. He later supplemented his studies with additional readings and coursework, and the college's board of trustees awarded him aBachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1898.[3]
He served inCuba with Theodore Roosevelt's famous Rough Riders, the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment.[4] He was a member of Troop D commanded by Captain Robert Huston. As a member of D Troop, Knox fought in Cuba at theBattle of Las Guasimas, and theBattle of San Juan Hill.[5]
After the war, Knox became a newspaper reporter in Grand Rapids, which was the beginning of a career that included ownership of several papers.He changed his first name to Frank around 1900. He was state chairman of theMichigan Republican Party. In 1912, he was a key organizer for the presidential ambitions of Theodore Roosevelt.[6][7]
In late 1912, Knox helped found theManchester Leader in New Hampshire. It was financed by GovernorRobert P. Bass, a member of theProgressive or Bull Moose Party). The newspaper was so successful that Knox bought out theManchesterUnion. The two newspapers merged under the banner of the Union-Leader Corporation July 1913. Both papers espoused a moderate Republican, probusiness stance.
DuringWorld War I, Knox was an advocate of U.S. military preparedness and then of participation in the war. When the U.S. declared war on Germany in 1917, he rejoined the Army. He reached the rank of Colonel and served as an artillery officer in France. After the war he returned to the newspaper business.
In 1931, Frank Knox became publisher and part owner of theChicago Daily News. In the1936 election, he was the Republican nominee forvice president underAlf Landon. Landon, Knox, and former PresidentHerbert Hoover were the only supporters of Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 who were later named to a Republican ticket. They lost in a landslide, winning justMaine andVermont against theDemocratic ticket of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice PresidentJohn Nance Garner.
DuringWorld War II, Knox again was an advocate of preparedness.[8] As an internationalist, he supported aid to theAllies and opposedisolationism. In July 1940, he becamesecretary of the Navy under Roosevelt withHenry L. Stimson as Secretary of War, part of the Democratic president's effort to build bipartisan support for his foreign and defense policies following thedefeat of France. Knox carried out Roosevelt's plan to expand theUS Navy into a force capable of fighting in both theAtlantic and thePacific oceans. Knox was mentioned by name inAdolf Hitler's speech of December 11, 1941, in which Hitler stated aGerman declaration of war against the United States.
When a new naval officer on Knox's staff told him, "I'm noNew Dealer," Knox replied, "I fought the President with every resource at my command. But now I've squared my politics with my conscience and I'm proud to serve under such a great man. At that," Knox added, "it's a good thing to have a couple of fellows around here whoaren't New Dealers!"[9] He traveled extensively to Navy installations worldwide. Knox also supported the continuedracial segregation in the United States Armed Forces.[10]
Knox had called for theinternment of Japanese Americans as early as 1933,[11] and he continued to do so in his new position. Shortly after theattack on Pearl Harbor, he visitedHawaii to investigate the sabotage that he believed to have taken place there. Upon his return, he issued a public statement that "the most effectiveFifth Column work of the entire war was done in Hawaii with the exception of Norway," and he accused Japanese Hawaiians of impeding US defense efforts in a report to the President. Although the FBI and military intelligence later disproved those claims, Knox continued to push for the internment of Japanese Americans and barred them from service in the Navy during the war.[12]
Following a brief series of heart attacks, Secretary Knox died inWashington, D.C., on April 28, 1944, while still in office. He was buried on May 1, 1944, atArlington National Cemetery, inArlington, Virginia.[13]
TheGearing-class destroyerUSS Frank Knox (DD-742), commissioned in December 1944, was named in his honor.[14][15]
On May 31, 1945, he received posthumously theMedal for Merit from PresidentHarry S. Truman.[16] He also received theSpanish Campaign Medal and theWorld War I Victory Medal for his previous military service.
In 1948, his widow, Annie Reid Knox (1875–1958) endowed theFrank Knox Memorial Fellowships, which allow scholars fromAustralia,Canada,New Zealand, theUnion of South Africa, and theUnited Kingdom to pursue graduate study atHarvard University, or by recent graduates of Harvard to travel and research in the countries of the BritishCommonwealth of Nations.[4]
Frank Knox School on the grounds of thePatuxent River Naval Air Station was named for him.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republicannominee forVice President of the United States 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Navy 1940–1944 | Succeeded by |
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| Secretary of the Navy |
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