William H. Hunt
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to theRussian Empire
In office August 23, 1882 – February 27, 1884
President	Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	John W. Foster
Succeeded by	Alphonso Taft
29thUnited States Secretary of the Navy
In office March 7, 1881 – April 16, 1882
President	James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	Nathan Goff Jr.
Succeeded by	William E. Chandler
Judge of theCourt of Claims
In office May 15, 1878 – March 11, 1881
Appointed by	Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	Ebenezer Peck
Succeeded by	Glenni William Scofield
Attorney General of Louisiana
In office 1876
Governor	William Pitt Kellogg
Preceded by	Alexander Pope Field
Succeeded by	Hiram R. Steele
Personal details
Born	William Henry Hunt (1823-06-12)June 12, 1823 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 27, 1884(1884-02-27) (aged 60) Saint Petersburg,Russian Empire
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater	Yale University Yale Law School

William Henry Hunt (June 12, 1823 – February 27, 1884) was the 29thUnited States Secretary of the Navy, Minister to theRussian Empire and ajudge of theCourt of Claims.

Hunt was born on June 12, 1823, inCharleston,South Carolina,^[1] He was the youngest of five sons born to Louisa (née Gaillard) Hunt (1786–1850), sister ofU.S. SenatorJohn Gaillard, and Thomas Hunt (1780–1830), who had been born inNassau, Bahamas where his grandfatherRobert Hunt held the position ofGovernor-General of the Bahamas for many years. His father was a member of theLouisiana State Legislature, a prominent lawyer, and a successful planter.^[2] Among his siblings wasTheodore Gaillard Hunt, aU.S. Representative from Louisiana,Randell Hunt, aLouisiana State Senator, Dr.Thomas Hunt Jr., a founder of theMedical College of Louisiana andpresident of the University of Louisiana (nowTulane University).

He attendedYale University andYale Law School, thenread law with Theodore Hunt and Randell Hunt inNew Orleans,Louisiana.^[1]

He entered private practice in New Orleans from 1844 to 1878.^[1] He served as a colonel in theConfederate States Army in 1862.^[1] He was an acting professor of civil law for the University of Louisiana (nowTulane University) in 1866.^[1] He wasAttorney General of Louisiana from 1876 to 1877.^[1]

Hunt was nominated by PresidentRutherford B. Hayes on April 18, 1878, to a seat on theCourt of Claims (later theUnited States Court of Claims) vacated by JudgeEbenezer Peck.^[1] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on May 15, 1878, and received his commission the same day.^[1] His service terminated on March 11, 1881, due to his resignation.^[1][3]

Hunt served asUnited States Secretary of the Navy from 1881 to 1882, in the cabinets of PresidentJames A. Garfield and PresidentChester A. Arthur.^[1]

Hunt served asEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to theRussian Empire for theUnited States Department of State from 1882 to 1884.^[1]

Hunt was married to Elizabeth Ridgely Hunt (d. 1864), daughter of CommandantCharles Goodwin Ridgely and the former Cornelia Louisiana Livingston (a granddaughter ofWalter Livingston and ChancellorRobert R. Livingston). Together, Elizabeth and William were the parents of seven children, six sons and one daughter, including:^[4]

• Ridgely Hunt (1854–1916), a Lt. in theU.S. Navy.^[5]
• Thomas Hunt (1855–1933), who married Helen Jewett, a daughter of U.S. RepresentativeHugh Judge Jewett, in 1888.^[6][7]
• Randell Hunt (1856–1898)
• William Henry Hunt Jr. (1857–1949), theAttorney General of Montana,Governor of Puerto Rico and Federal judge.^[8]
• Livingston Hunt (1859–1943),^[9] a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy who married Catharine Howland Hunt (1868–1963), a daughter of architectRichard Morris Hunt.^[10][11]
• Cornelia Ridgely Hunt (1861–1930), who married Dr. William Kelly Newton (1850–1909) in 1905.^[12]
• Gaillard Hunt (1862–1924), a historian who married Mary Goodfellow.^[13]

After the death of his first wife in 1864, he remarried to Sarah Harrison Barker (1819–1908), a daughter of New York merchant John T. Adams, in 1866.^[2]

He died on February 27, 1884, inSaint Petersburg, Russian Empire.^[2] His body was returned to the United States and after a funeral atSt. John's Church in Washington, D.C. He was buried atOak Hill Cemetery in Washington.^[14][15] He was a member ofThe Boston Club of New Orleans.^[16]

Two ships in theUnited States Navy have been namedUSSHunt for Hunt.^{[citation needed]}

• Media related toWilliam H. Hunt at Wikimedia Commons
• "Hunt, William Henry - Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.

• 1823 births
• 1884 deaths
• Louisiana attorneys general
• Confederate States Army officers
• United States secretaries of the navy
• Ambassadors of the United States to Russia
• Judges of the United States Court of Claims
• Garfield administration cabinet members
• Arthur administration cabinet members
• United States Article I federal judges appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes
• 19th-century American judges
• 19th-century American diplomats
• 19th-century American politicians
• Ridgely family
• Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)

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