Frank Hitchcock
Hitchcock in 1910
44thUnited States Postmaster General
In office March 5, 1909 – March 4, 1913
President	William Howard Taft
Preceded by	George Meyer
Succeeded by	Albert S. Burleson
Chair of theRepublican National Committee
In office July 8, 1908 – March 5, 1909
Preceded by	Harry New
Succeeded by	John Hill
Personal details
Born	Frank Harris Hitchcock (1867-10-05)October 5, 1867 Amherst, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 5, 1935(1935-08-05) (aged 67) Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Harvard University (BA) George Washington University (LLB)
Signature

Frank Harris Hitchcock (October 5, 1867 – August 5, 1935), was chairman ofRepublican National Committee from 1908 to 1909. He was thenPostmaster General of the United States under PresidentWilliam Howard Taft from 1909 to 1913.

Frank Harris Hitchcock was born inAmherst, Ohio on October 5, 1867.^[1]

According to historian David Leighton, "He graduated fromHarvard in 1891 and theGeorge Washington University Law School in 1894. During his time at Harvard he metTheodore Roosevelt at theAudubon Society, both sharing a passion for the study of birds. Hitchcock credited Roosevelt for his success at the national level: From 1897 to 1905 Hitchcock served in the departments ofAgriculture andCommerce. From 1905-08, he was assistant postmaster general."

He is credited with establishing the first U.S.airmail service. As Postmaster General, he made prosecution ofmail fraud a top priority, and led a major crackdown on people using the mails to sell shares in worthless companies.^[2] He's also credited with starting theUS Postal Service's Operation Santa in 1912, instructing local postmasters to let workers and citizens respond to Santa letters that were popping up in post offices.^[3]

Hitchcock managed the campaign to nominate Taft for the presidency at the1908 Republican Convention.^[4] Hitchcock's subsequent role as Postmaster General made him the main dispenser ofpatronage jobs for the Taft administration, giving him control over many delegates at the1912 Republican Convention and prompting anxieties on the part of Taft and others over rumors that Hitchcock might support Roosevelt that year.^[5]

Hitchcock moved to Arizona in 1928 where he invested in mining and was an owner of theTucson Citizen.^[6] He advocated the creation ofCatalina Highway andSaguaro National Monument. Frank Harris Hitchcock died inTucson, Arizona on August 5, 1935.^[7]

• 
  Hitchcock withT. Coleman du Pont
• 
  Edward M. Morgan, Frank Harris Hitchcock, andEarle Lewis Ovington in hisBlériot XI
• 
  Edward M. Morgan, Frank Harris Hitchcock, andEarle Lewis Ovington in hisBlériot XI

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFrank Harris Hitchcock.

• David Leighton, "Street Smarts: General Hitchcock Highway remembers a man whose influence went from D.C. to Tucson and back," Arizona Daily Star, Feb. 25, 2014

• 1867 births
• 1935 deaths
• 20th-century American politicians
• Arizona Republicans
• Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
• George Washington University Law School alumni
• Harvard University alumni
• Ohio Republicans
• People from Amherst, Ohio
• Republican National Committee chairs
• Taft administration cabinet members
• United States postmasters general

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2020
• Commons category link from Wikidata