Voting Station

Frank Knox

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (January 1, 1874-April 28, 1944)
    Born in Boston, Massachusetts
    Birth name was William Franklin Knox
    Major in the United States Army
    Served in the Spanish American War and World War I
    Republican nominee for Vice President (1936)
    United States Secretary of the Navy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (July 11, 1940 – April 28, 1944)
    Editor of the Manchester Leader
    Publisher and owner of the Chicago Daily News

Why he might be annoying:

    He changed his first name to Frank around 1900 for some reason.
    No, he's not the namesake for Fort Knox (that's Henry Knox).
    He and Alf Landon only won Maine and Vermont, otherwise losing in a landslide to FDR.
    He was chosen as Landon's running mate despite not having held any political office before.
    He lost to Franklin Roosevelt only to be tapped for the Naval Secretary position four years later.
    He holds the most responsibility for the infamous internment of Japanese Americans during World War II (a policy he had incidentally been pushing as early as 1933).
    He openly accused Japanese Hawaiians of undermining U.S. defense efforts (and continued to do so after military intelligence disproved his claims). He later barred Japanese-Americans from naval service.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His parents were both Canadian.
    He fought with the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War's Battle of San Juan Hill.
    He advocated U.S. entry into World War I but served as an artillery officer in France (so at least he wasn't a chickenhawk!)
    He broke the news to President Roosevelt that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
    Adolf Hitler mentioned him by name in his December 11, 1941 speech calling for a German declaration of war against the United States.
    He carried out Roosevelt's plan to expand the Navy into a force capable of fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
    When a new officer on his staff told him 'I'm no New Dealer,' he answered: 'I fought the President with every resource at my command. But now I've squared my politics with my conscience and I'm proud to serve under such a great man. (At that it's a good thing to have a couple of fellows around here who aren't New Dealers!)'
    He died in office after suffering a series of heart attacks (he was succeeded by James Forrestal).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 21 Votes: 85.71% Annoying