US Senator, US Congressman, Presidential Cabinet Secretary. An 1881 graduate of the US Naval Academy, he served as a midshipman from 1881 to 1883 before starting careers in civil engineering and finance. During that time he remained active militarily as a member of the Massachusetts Naval Brigade and serving as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War.Following his Navy service, he relocated to Orlando Florida and served as the first Chief of the Orlando Fire Dept. 1885-1888, as well as land commissioner of Florida Southern Railroad in Jacksonville. He became interested in politics. He was elected and served as mayor of Newton Massachusetts from 1902 to 1903, was a Congressman from Massachusetts from 1905 to 1913 and served in the US Senate from 1913 to 1919. In 1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed him secretary of war and he served in that position under both Harding and Calvin Coolidge. While war secretary, he approved the placement of the Argonne Cross in the Arlington National Cemetery in order to honor those Americans killed during World War I. Ill health forced him to resign in 1925 and the next year he died in his hometown of Lancaster, New Hampshire.
US Senator, US Congressman, Presidential Cabinet Secretary. An 1881 graduate of the US Naval Academy, he served as a midshipman from 1881 to 1883 before starting careers in civil engineering and finance. During that time he remained active militarily as a member of the Massachusetts Naval Brigade and serving as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War.Following his Navy service, he relocated to Orlando Florida and served as the first Chief of the Orlando Fire Dept. 1885-1888, as well as land commissioner of Florida Southern Railroad in Jacksonville. He became interested in politics. He was elected and served as mayor of Newton Massachusetts from 1902 to 1903, was a Congressman from Massachusetts from 1905 to 1913 and served in the US Senate from 1913 to 1919. In 1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed him secretary of war and he served in that position under both Harding and Calvin Coolidge. While war secretary, he approved the placement of the Argonne Cross in the Arlington National Cemetery in order to honor those Americans killed during World War I. Ill health forced him to resign in 1925 and the next year he died in his hometown of Lancaster, New Hampshire.
Bio by: Bigwoo
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