E. T. Pollock | |
|---|---|
 Capt. Pollock as Superintendent of theU.S. Naval Observatory | |
| Birth name | Edwin Taylor Pollock |
| Born | (1870-10-25)October 25, 1870 |
| Died | June 4, 1943(1943-06-04) (aged 72) |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Service years | 1893–1927 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands | USS Virginia USS Kearsarge USS Salem USS Alabama USS Hancock USS George Washington USS Oklahoma CommandantU.S. Naval Station Tutuila SuperintendentU.S. Naval Observatory |
| Conflicts | Battle of Santiago de Cuba |
| Awards | Navy Cross |
| Other work | Military Governor of theU. S. Virgin Islands (acting) andAmerican Samoa |
Edwin Taylor Pollock (October 25, 1870 – June 4, 1943) was a careerofficer in theUnited States Navy, serving in theSpanish–American War and inWorld War I. He was later promoted to the rank ofcaptain.
As a youngensign, Pollock served aboardUSS New York during the Spanish–American War. After the war, he rose through the ranks, served on several ships, and did important research into wireless communication. In 1917, less than a week before the United States entered World War I, he won a race against a fellow officer to receive theU.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark, and served as the territory's first acting governor. During the war, he was promoted to captain and a vessel under his command transported 60,000 American soldiers to France, for which he was awarded aNavy Cross. Afterward, he was made the eighth Naval Governor ofAmerican Samoa and then the superintendent of theUnited States Naval Observatory, before retiring in 1927.
As Governor of American Samoa, Pollock is notable for establishing dialogue with theMau movement, which eventually led to the dissolution of opposition groups. He firmly denied entry toC.S. Hannum andSamuel S. Ripley, believing their presence would cause even greater trouble than in 1920, and vowed to jail Hannum if he ever returned to American Samoa. Pollock also prohibited the use of Samoan bush medicine and instituted a special tax of $3 per taxpayer. Additionally, he is remembered for giving the final approval for the hanging of Toeupu following his murder conviction.[1] In 1923, Governor Pollock made the first proposal for a museum in American Samoa. This was included in his 1923 report to the Secretary of the Navy.[2] However, work on the museum was not started until the arrival of First LadyJean P. Haydon in 1969.
Originally fromMount Gilead, Ohio, Pollock attended theUnited States Naval Academy and, as a midshipman, was assigned toUSS Lancaster andUSS Monocacy.[3] He graduated with a rank ofensign in 1893.
After graduation, Pollock returned to Ohio and married Beatrice E. Law Hale on December 5.[4] Two weeks later, he was assigned to the cruiserUSS New York during its initial shake-down.[5] He was subsequently assigned to thegunboatUSS Machias for an expedition toChina.[6] He remained in China for two and a half years as part of theAsiatic Squadron, then transferring toUSS Detroit before returning home in 1897.[7] On his return home, the Spanish–American War was heating up and he was reassigned toNew York, to see service inCuba andPuerto Rico, eventually taking part in theBattle of Santiago de Cuba.[8]
In January 1900, he was promoted tolieutenant and assigned toUSS Alliance.[9] Over the following year he served onUSS Dolphin andUSS Buffalo.[10] On boardBuffalo, he returned to the Asiatic Squadron near China and was finally transferred toUSS Brooklyn, the squadron'sflagship.[11] He remained on boardBrooklyn, until its return home in May 1902.[12] After a brief leave, Pollock was assigned to theUSSChesapeake (as thewatch anddivision officer), a position he held for more than one year.[13] He was transferred toUSS Cincinnati, serving for another year, and then toCavite Naval Base.[14] At Cavite, he was promoted tolieutenant commander in February 1906.[15]
His first duty as a lieutenant commander was onUSS Alabama, as thenavigator.[16] In 1910, Pollock was reassigned toUSS Massachusetts, where he was promoted tocommander in March 1911.[17][18]
On his promotion, Pollock commandedUSS Virginia andUSS Kearsarge, before being transferred to theUnited States Naval Observatory.[19] During his command ofKearsarge, Pollock briefly commandedUSS Salem for a world-record setting wireless experiment. For this feat,Salem was outfitted with 16 different wireless telegraph technologies and sailed toGibraltar, with Pollock commanding. On arrival, they tested these technologies and set a world-record for longest wireless telegraph distance, 2,400 miles (3,900 km), using a "Poulsen Apparatus", based on principles byValdemar Poulsen. Experiments were also conducted to determine wireless characteristics during inclement weather and during both the day and night.[20] In 1916, he was put in command ofUSS Alabama, the ship on which he had been the navigator.[21]
In the final days before the entrance of theUnited States intoWorld War I, the U.S. military was concerned thatGermany was planning to purchase or seize theDanish West Indies for use as asubmarine orzeppelin base.[22] At the time,Charlotte Amalie onSaint Thomas was considered the best port in theCaribbean outside ofCuba, andCoral Bay onSaint John was considered the safest harbor in the area.[23] Although the United States was not yet at war with Germany, the U.S. signed a treaty to purchase the territory from Denmark for 25 million dollars on March 28, 1917.PresidentWoodrow Wilson nominatedJames Harrison Oliver to be the first military governor.[24] The United States announced plans to build a naval base in the territory to aid in the protection of thePanama Canal.[25]
Oliver was unable to travel immediately to the Islands and the honor of being the first Acting Governor of theUnited States Virgin Islands was decided in an unusual way. Both Pollock, commandingUSS Hancock, and B. B. Blerer'sUSS Olympia were dispatched to the Islands in a race. The commander of the ship that arrived first would officiate at the transfer ceremony and be acting governor.[24] Pollock arrived first and the transfer ceremony took place on March 31, 1917, on Saint Thomas. Blerer officiated at a smaller ceremony onSaint Croix. Present for the handover was the crew of the Danish station cruiserValkyrien and the former island legislature.[26] The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, less than a week after securing the islands. Oliver was confirmed byCongress on April 20 and relieved Pollock as governor.
During the war, Pollock was appointed as captain onUSS George Washington, a German cruise liner which was seized by the United States government for use as a military transport ship. She was rechristenedGeorge Washington in September 1917 and Pollock was given her command on October 1, 1917. That December, she set out with her first load of troops. During the war, Pollock successfully transported 60,000 American soldiers toFrance in 18 round trips.[27] In 1918,George Washington was tasked to deliverPresidentWoodrow Wilson to theParis Peace Conference, though Pollock would not make the trip. He was reassigned on September 29, 1918.[28]
While on boardGeorge Washington, Pollock andChaplain Paul F. Bloomhardt edited a dailynewspaper. After the war, stories from the paper were assembled and published in 1919 by J. J. Little & Ives co. asHatchet of the United States Ship "George Washington". A short review of the work byOutlook magazine called the book "readable" and "admirably illustrated". It "abounds in clever bits of fun, queer and notable incidents, and sound and patriotic editorials."[29]After the war, he was eventually reassigned to the battleshipUSS Oklahoma, to serve in the Pacific fleet.[27] On November 10, 1920, Pollock was awarded aNavy Cross for his services during the war.[30]
On November 30, 1921, Pollock was transferred from command ofOklahoma to become the Military Governor ofAmerican Samoa.[31] Events both personal and political had led to a previous governor,Warren Terhune's,suicide on November 3, 1920, and the appointment of GovernorWaldo A. Evans to conduct a court of inquiry into the situation and to restore order. Pollock succeeded Evans, who had successfully restored the government and productivity of the islands after a period of unrest.[32] At this time, American Samoa was administered by a team of twelve officers and a governor, with a total population of approximately 8,000 people. The islands were primarily important due to the excellentharbor atPago Pago.[33]
Beginning in 1920, aMau movement, from theSamoan word for "opposition", was forming in American Samoa in protest of several Naval government policies, some of which had been implemented by Terhune but which were not revoked following his death, which natives (and some non-natives) found heavy-handed. The movement itself may have been inspired by a different and older Mau movement in nearbyWestern Samoa, against theGerman and thenNew Zealandcolonial powers. Some of the initial grievances of the movement included the quality of roads in the territory, a marriage law which largely forbade natives from marrying non-natives, and a justice system which discriminated against locals in part because laws were not often available in Samoan. In addition, the United States Navy also prohibited an assembly of Samoan chiefs, whom the movement considered the real government of the territory. Surprisingly, the movement had grown to include several prominent officers of former Governor Terhune's staff, including hisexecutive officer. It culminated in a proclamation bySamuel S. Ripley, anAmerican Samoan from anafakasi or mixed-blood Samoan family, with large communal property in the islands, that he was the leader of a legitimate successor government to pre-1899 Samoa. Evans also met with the high chiefs and secured their assent to continued Naval government. Ripley, who had traveled to Washington to meet withSecretary of the NavyEdwin C. Denby, was not permitted by Evans to enter the port at American Samoa and returned toexile in California, where he later became the mayor ofRichmond.[32]
After being appointed as governor, Pollock's continued the colonization work started by his predecessor. Prior to traveling to the territory, he met with Ripley inSan Francisco, California. Although Ripley maintained that American "occupation" of Samoa was usurpation, he agreed to allow Pollock to govern unfettered and to provide him with copies of his letters. Almost immediately after arriving on the island, Pollock and Secretary of Native Affairs S. D. Hall met with representatives of the Mau, becoming the first governor to do so. Shortly afterwards, some members of the Mau disbanded, though the movement would continue in some form for another 13 years.[32]
In June 1923, Governor Pollock recounted an unusual event from May 8, 1923, in a letter to the Department of the U.S. Navy. The story involved the capture of a "wild man" by a young Samoan in the hills north ofPago Pago. The "wild man," clad only in nature’s vestments, was seen descending a coconut tree and was subdued by the Samoan, who bound his hands and brought him to the Naval Station. The captured individual became a sensation among both the Samoans and the white residents of the area. The young Samoan who made the capture was an escaped prisoner. After returning to the Naval Station, the "wild man" refused to separate from his captor for any significant length of time. Despite efforts, no one was able to communicate with him. It was apparent that they spoke different languages. The "wild man," who appeared to be quite elderly with nearly white hair, was physically frail but seemed content and at peace in his new surroundings, where he was well treated. Before long, Samoan residents recognized the so-called “wild man” as Malua, the fourth and final runaway survivor from theSolomon Islands. He had been roaming the mountains around Pago Pago ever since his companion had sought refuge in 1901.[34] Malua is buried at theSatala Cemetery.[35]
Pollock's remaining time as governor was less eventful. While exploringTonga in May 1923, he discovered a turtle which had been branded byCaptain Cook on his expedition there in 1773. The turtle was thus known to have lived more than 150 years.[36] He was ordered home on July 26, 1923.[37]
Immediately on leaving Samoa, Pollock was appointed superintendent of theUnited States Naval Observatory inWashington, D.C., replacing outgoingRear Admiral William D. MacDougal.[38]
On August 22, 1924,Mars came within 34,630,000 miles (55,730,000 km) of Earth. The U.S. Naval Observatory made no formal observations of the planet, but Pollock and the son of astronomerAsaph Hall ceremonially re-enacted Hall's 1877 discoveries of the moonsPhobos andDeimos with his original 17-inch (430 mm)telescope.[39] They also made observations to calculate the masses of the two moons.[40]
On January 24, 1925, Pollock commanded thedirigibleUSS Los Angeles on a flight fromLakehurst, New Jersey, to photograph asolar eclipse from an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 m). This was the first time an eclipse had been photographed from the air.[41]
Pollock retired from service in 1927 and was replaced as superintendent by Captain Charles F. Freeman.[42] In 1930, Pollock and his wife purchased a summer home inJamestown, Rhode Island, while continuing to maintain their main residence in Washington, D.C. In 1932, he was made a director of the Jamestown Historical Society.[43] He also became interested in genealogy and published several works on his family's history through the 1930s.[44] He died on June 4, 1943, after a long illness and was buried inArlington National Cemetery on June 7, 1943.[45]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Henri Konow (Acting – Final Danish Governor) | Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands 1917 (Acting) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of American Samoa 1922–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Naval(1917–1931) |  | |
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| Civil(1931–1969) | ||
| Elected(since 1969) | ||
| Commandant(1900–1905) |  | |
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| Naval(1905–1951) | ||
| Civil(1951–1978) | ||
| Elected(since 1978) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
