Daniels, Josephus (1862-1948) to Francis Pickering Walker Thomas
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03804.45 Author/Creator: Daniels, Josephus (1862-1948) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Typed letter signed Date: 3 April 1918 Pagination: 1 p. ; 26.5 x 20.2 cm. Order a Copy
Written on stationery of the Navy Department. Signed by Daniels as the Secretary of the Navy to the daughter of the late Rear Admiral John G. Walker. Daniels says that he is acting on the suggestion of her mother by nominating her to act as a family sponsor to the launching of the USS "Walker," the newly commissioned destroyer. Says the ship is being built at the Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. Will be ready to launch sometime in June. Letter has two punch holes at the top.
A native of Washington, North Carolina, Daniels owned and managed several newspapers before purchasing the Raleigh News & Observer, which he ran for several decades. Prominent in state and national Democratic Party politics, he held office during President Grover Cleveland's administration. He supported Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election, and after Wilson's victory was appointed as Secretary of the Navy. He held the post from 1913 to 1921, throughout the Wilson administration, overseeing the Navy during World War I. Future U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt served as his Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1921 he resumed the editorship of the Raleigh News and Observer. He was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico 1933-1941.
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