Assistant Secretary of the Navy

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was established in 1861, to provide a senior deputy to the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary was responsible for the Navy's civilian personnel, as well as for administration of shore facilities (such as naval bases and shipyards). Gustavus Fox was the first to hold the post, serving throughout the Civil War. The office was disestablished in 1869, during Reconstruction, but was reestablished by Congress on July 11, 1890. James R. Soley was the first to be appointed to the newly reestablished position.

The Assistant Secretary was the Navy's number-two civilian until 1940, when Congress established the position of Under Secretary of the Navy, who was given oversight of the Assistant Secretary's activities. James V. Forrestal, later Secretary of Defense, was the first to serve as Under Secretary; he held the post until 1944, when he became Secretary of the Navy.

During the 20th century, the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary were divided among several officials. During the 1920s, for example, to reflect the increasing importance of naval aviation, Congress established the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air.

The office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy was disestablished in 1954.{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/lists-of-senior-officers-and-civilian-officials-of-the-us-navy/list-of-assistant-secretary-of-the-navy.html |title=List of Assistant Secretary of the Navy |publisher=History.navy.mil |access-date=2022-08-10}}

• U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1898, during the William McKinley administration. His short tenure was due to resigning to organize and lead into combat the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry during the Spanish-American War. It is notable for his taking the initiative to order Admiral George Dewey to sail to Manila where he sank the Spanish Pacific Fleet at the very outset of the war.
• U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 until 1920, and helped to implement Navy policies during World War I.
• According to author Edward J. Renehan, Jr., no fewer than five members of the extended Roosevelt clan served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy: Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. who served from 1921 through 1924 under Harding and Coolidge, Theodore Douglas Robinson (the son of Corinne Roosevelt) who served from 1924 through 1929 under Coolidge, and finally Henry Latrobe Roosevelt, a descendant of Robert Fulton's old friend "Steamboat Nicholas" Roosevelt, who served from 1933 through 1936 under FDR.{{cite web|url=http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/TRandNavy.htm |title=Theodore Roosevelt and the Navy by The Theodore Roosevelt Association |publisher=Theodoreroosevelt.org |date=2013-02-01 |access-date=2013-06-17}}
• Ralph Austin Bard was Assistant Secretary (1941–1944) and then Under Secretary (1944–1945) during World War II.

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• [https://www.archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/general_department_of_navy_1798_1947_rg080.html#80.3.1 80.3.1 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy] General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947 (Record Group 80) 1804–1958, from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
• [http://www.history.navy.mil Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C.] Source for papers and photos of various Assistant Secretaries of the Navy
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060402234332/https://www.navy.mil/navydata/organization/org-sec.asp Navy Organization – The Secretariat] An organizational chart for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Dept. of the Navy

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Category:1861 establishments in the United States

Category:Office of the Secretary of the Navy

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