George von Lengerke Meyer
George von Lengerke Meyer (24 June, 1858 – 9 March, 1918) served as the fortieth Secretary of the Navy from 1907 through 1909.
Life & Career
Template:DANFS George von Lengerke Meyer was born on 24 June, 1858 in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1879 and pursued a career in the mercantile and banking world until 1899. During that period he also served as councilman and alderman for the city of Boston, and in 1892 became one of its representatives in the Massachusetts Legislature. Meyer served in the Legislature until 1897, and acted as Speaker of the House from 1894 through 1896.
From 1900 to 1905 he served as Ambassador to Italy and, from 1905 to 1907, as Ambassador to Russia. Returning to the United States, he served President Roosevelt as Postmaster General and was then appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Taft on 6 March, 1909. He held that office through the Taft administration and then returned to Massachusetts. He died at Boston on 9 March, 1918. The following year the U.S. Navy named Destroyer No. 279 in his honor.
See Also
Bibliography
- Howe, M. A. DeWolfe (1919). George von Lengerke Meyer: His Life and Public Services. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co.
- Wiegand, Wayne A. (1988). Patrician in the Progressive Era: A Biography of George von Lengerke Meyer. New York: Garland.
Papers
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Truman H. Newberry |
Secretary of the Navy 6 Mar, 1909 – 4 Mar, 1913 |
Succeeded by Josephus Daniels |
Footnotes
