Frank Knox
William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, soldier, newspaper editor, and publisher. He was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936 and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II. On December 7, 1941, Knox, flanked by his assistant John O’Keefe, walked into Roosevelt's White House study around 1:30 pm EST, and announced that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor.
For the cricketer, see Frank Knox (cricketer).
Frank Knox
Born in Boston, he attended Alma College and served with the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War. After the war, he became a newspaper editor in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and state chairman of the Republican Party. He was a leading supporter of Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive candidate for president in 1912. He advocated U.S. entrance into World War I and served as an artillery officer in France. The 1936 Republican National Convention nominated a ticket of Alf Landon and Knox, and they were defeated by Roosevelt and John Nance Garner in the 1936 election.
After World War II broke out in 1939, Knox supported aid to the Allies. In 1940, Roosevelt appointed him as Secretary of the Navy in hopes of building bipartisan support. Knox brought in James 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 the Chicago 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.
Early life[edit]
William Franklin Knox was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were both Canadian; his mother, Sarah C. (Barnard), was from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and his father, William Edwin Knox, was from New 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 the US 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 a Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1898.[3]
He served in Cuba 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 the Battle of Las Guasimas, and the Battle of San Juan Hill.[5]
Death[edit]
Following a brief series of heart attacks, Secretary Knox died in Washington, DC, on April 28, 1944, while still in office. He was buried on May 1, 1944, at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.[12]
Posthumous honors and memorials[edit]
The Gearing-class destroyer USS Frank Knox (DD-742), commissioned in December 1944, was named in his honor.[13][14]
On May 31, 1945, he received posthumously the Medal for Merit from President Harry S. Truman.[15] He also received the Spanish Campaign Medal and the World War I Victory Medal for his previous military service.
In 1948, his widow, Annie Reid Knox (1875–1958) endowed the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships, which allow scholars from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and the United Kingdom to pursue graduate study at Harvard University, or by recent graduates of Harvard to travel and research in the countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations.[4]
Frank Knox School on the grounds of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station was named for him.