William C. Redfield
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Other people|William Redfield}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = William Redfield
|image = William Cox Redfield.jpg
|office = 1st United States Secretary of Commerce
|president = Woodrow Wilson
|term_start = March 5, 1913
|term_end = October 31, 1919
|predecessor = Position established
|successor = Joshua W. Alexander
|state1 = New York
|district1 = {{ushr|NY|5|5th}}
|term_start1 = March 4, 1911
|term_end1 = March 3, 1913
|predecessor1 = Richard Young
|successor1 = James P. Maher
|birth_name = William Cox Redfield
|birth_date = {{birth date|1858|6|18}}
|birth_place = Albany, New York, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1932|6|13|1858|6|18}}
|death_place = New York City, U.S.
|party = Democratic
|otherparty = National Democratic (1896–1900)
}}
William Cox Redfield (June 18, 1858 – June 13, 1932) was a Democratic politician from New York who served in both the U.S. Congress and as the first U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Biography
Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson, Redfield served as the first Secretary of Commerce from 1913 to 1919 after the division of the Department of Commerce and Labor.{{Cite web |title=REDFIELD, William Cox |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/R000105 }}
Prior to his appointment, Redfield served as Commissioner of Public Works for Brooklyn. He then went on to represent New York's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1913.{{Cite web |date=2016-10-04 |title=William C. Redfield (1913–1919) {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/president/wilson/essays/redfield-1913-secretary-of-commerce |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=millercenter.org |language=en}} He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1912, and a supporter of labor rights.[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ssEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA9&dq=William+C.+Redfield+minimum+wage&article_id=2717,6280839&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiriIbqlaqKAxVuSkEAHUZaJGUQ6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=William%20C.%20Redfield%20minimum%20wage&f=false The Pittsburgh Press 23 Apr 1913]
Publications
- {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/newindustrialday00redf|title=The new industrial day, a book for men who employ men|last=Redfield|first=William Cox|publisher=The Century Co.|year=1912|location=New York|lccn=12025163}} (Includes Redfield's views on labor)
- {{Cite journal|last=Redfield|first=William|date=April 1912|title=The Progress of Japanese Industry|journal=The Journal of Race Development|volume=2|issue=4|pages=362–372|doi=10.2307/29737925|jstor=29737925|doi-access=}}
- {{Cite book|title=With Congress and cabinet|last=Redfield|first=William Cox|publisher=Doubleday, Page & company|year=1924|location=Garden City, N.Y.|hdl = 2027/uc1.b4506941|lccn=24006006}}
- {{Cite book|title=We and the world|last=Redfield|first=William Cox|publisher=Newark [etc.]|year=1927|location=New York|lccn=27024211}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{CongBio|R000105}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|William Cox Redfield}}
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{{U.S. Cabinet official box | before = new office | after = Joshua W. Alexander | years = 1913–1919 | president = Woodrow Wilson | department = Secretary of Commerce}}
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Category:Politicians from Albany, New York
Category:Politicians from Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Category:United States secretaries of commerce
Category:Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members
Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
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