William H. Hunt

This article is about the politician William Henry Hunt. For other people, see William Henry Hunt .

William H. Hunt

William Henry Hunt (born June 12, 1823 in Charleston , South Carolina , † February 27, 1884 in Saint Petersburg , Russia ) was an American lawyer and politician ( Republican Party ) who served in the United States Cabinet between 1881 and 1882 Naval Minister belonged.

Life

William Hunt studied law at Yale University . He completed his lawyer training in his brother's New Orleans law firm ; there he was admitted to the bar in 1844.

He was an opponent of secession and supporters of the Union, but was after the outbreak of civil war still to serve in Konföderiertenheer pulled in and to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel levied. However, he managed to stay out of military operations until New Orleans, where he was stationed , had to surrender to the forces of Navy Admiral David Glasgow Farragut in April 1862 .

Public offices

In March 1876 Hunt was appointed Attorney General for the state of Louisiana; in July of the same year he ran as a Republican candidate for that office. Both his party and the Democrats claimed victory for themselves, but Hunt was ultimately the loser when US President Rutherford B. Hayes awarded the Democratic government the victory. As a kind of compensation Hunt was born on 15 May 1878 by the President to the assessor federal judge at Court of Claims appointed.

Hayes' successor, James A. Garfield , brought William Hunt to his cabinet as Secretary of the Navy . As minister, he made great contributions to the navy, which had been noticeably neglected after the civil war. He convened the first Naval Advisory Board , which was given the task of reorganizing the Navy, which was not easy given the public disinterest and lack of funds.

While he was still trying to modernize the fleet, Hunt was dismissed from his post in April 1882 by Chester A. Arthur , the successor to President Garfield, who had been shot by an assassin, and sent to Russia as the United States Ambassador . While he was in office, he died in Saint Petersburg in February 1884. His remains were transferred to the United States and interred in Washington, DC .

Appreciation

In memory of the former Secretary of the Navy, the destroyers USS Hunt (DD-194) and USS Hunt (DD-674) were named after him.

Web links

• William H. Hunt in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• William H. Hunt in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)