Frank Knox

Frank Knox
Knox, c. 1940s
47th United 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 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.

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.