Charles Francis Adams III
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
and a well-known yachtsman.
Life
A scion of the Adams familyAdams political family
The Adams family was a prominent political family in the United States during the late 18th century through early 20th centuries. Based in eastern Massachusetts, they formed part of the Boston Brahmin community.-Members:...
that gave the country two presidents, Charles Francis III was born in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
to John Quincy Adams II
John Quincy Adams II
John Quincy Adams II was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Adams was the son of Charles Francis Adams, the grandson and namesake of president John Quincy Adams and the great-grandson of President John Adams...
(1833–1894); the oldest son of the Secretary's grandfather Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....
; his great-grandfather was sixth U. S. President John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
; and his great-great-grandfather was second U. S. President John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
. He was also the great-grandson of U. S. Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Williams Crowninshield
Benjamin Williams Crowninshield
Benjamin Williams Crowninshield served as the United States Secretary of the Navy between 1815 and 1818, during the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.-Biography:...
; Fanny Cadwalader Crowninshield's grandfather.
It should be noted that Charles Francis Adams, Jr.
Charles Francis Adams, Jr.
Charles Francis Adams II was a member of the prominent Adams family, and son of Charles Francis Adams, Sr. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
(1835–1915) was the uncle, not the father of Charles Francis Adams III, an assumption regularly made by virtue of sequential name succession. Charles F. Adams, Jr. had five children, the first three being daughters, which may explain why his brother John Q. Adams II took the prerogative to name his son after their father Charles F. Adams, Sr. Charles, Jr.'s only sons (twins) were born in 1875.
Adams graduated cum laude from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
(1888) and from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
(1892). He was first a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, then went into business. He married Frances Lovering, the daughter of U.S. Representative William C. Lovering
William C. Lovering
William Croad Lovering was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.-Biography:Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Lovering moved with his parents to Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1837....
, in 1899. They had one son, Charles
Charles Francis Adams IV
Charles Francis Adams IV was a U.S. electronics industrialist. He served as the first president of the Raytheon Company between 1948 and 1960, and again from 1962 to 1964. He served as its chairman between 1960 and 1962, and again from 1964 until 1972...
, and one daughter, Catherine (both noted below).
Adams served as Mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
from 1896 to 1897. Chas. F. Adams, III's is the third cousin second removed of Otis Norcross
Otis Norcross
Otis C. Norcross served as the nineteenth Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from January 7, 1867 to January 6, 1868 during the Reconstruction era of the United States...
, 19th Mayor of Boston. Both descending from their fourth great grandfather, Joseph Adams; Otis from his first wife Mary [Chapin], and Charles from his second wife Hannah [Bass].
In 1920, he skippered the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
defender Resolute and soon became known as the "Dean of American Helmsmen". He was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame
America's Cup Hall of Fame
The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition...
(1993).
The Charles Francis Adams Memorial Trophy for yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
was established in his memory, and the Navy destroyer USS Charles F. Adams
USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2)
USS Charles F. Adams , named for Charles Francis Adams, III , was the lead ship of the her class of guided missile destroyers of the United States Navy....
was dedicated in his honor.
As Secretary of the Navy, (1929–1933), he vigorously promoted public understanding of the Navy's indispensable role in international affairs, and worked strenuously to maintain naval strength and efficiency during a period of severe economic depression. He served at the London Naval Conference
London Naval Conference
There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel...
in 1930 where he successfully maintained the principle of United States naval parity with Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1932.
He died in 1954 and is interred in Mount Wollaston Cemetery
Mount Wollaston Cemetery
Mount Wollaston Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 20 Sea Street in the Merrymount neighborhhod of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1855 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.-History:...
in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts next to his father, John Quincy Adams II, and his grandfather, Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Family
Charles Francis Adams III and Frances [nee Lovering] had two children:- His daughter, Catherine Adams, (b. January 13, 1902, d. September 28, 1988) married (June 26, 1923) Henry Sturgis MorganHenry S. Morgan-Biography:He was born on October 24, 1900 in London, England to John Pierpont Morgan, Jr. and Jane Norton Grew. His father was the son of J. P. Morgan; and his mother was the daughter of Boston banker and mill owner Henry Sturgis Grew. Morgan had two sons....
, son of J. P. Morgan, Jr.J. P. Morgan, Jr.John Pierpont "Jack" Morgan, Jr. was an American banker and philanthropist.-Biography:He was born on September 7, 1867 in Irvington, New York to John Pierpont Morgan, Sr. and Frances Louisa Tracy. He graduated from Harvard in 1886, where he was a member of the Delphic Club, formerly known as the...
and one of the founders of Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
(1935), along with Harold Stanley. They had five sons. - His son, Charles Francis Adams IVCharles Francis Adams IVCharles Francis Adams IV was a U.S. electronics industrialist. He served as the first president of the Raytheon Company between 1948 and 1960, and again from 1962 to 1964. He served as its chairman between 1960 and 1962, and again from 1964 until 1972...
, (b. May 2, 1910, d. January 5, 1999) was a prominent businessman and first president of Raytheon Company, who married firstly Margaret [Stockton], and had issue: Abigail Adams, Allison Adams, Charles Francis Adams V, and Timothy Adams. He married secondly, widow Mrs. Beatrice D. Penati.
Charles Francis Adams III was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity (Alpha chapter).
Family tree
The following is a selective family tree of notable members of the Adams family relative to Charles Francis Adams III:
External links
- Charles Francis Adams III at NNDB
NNDBThe Notable Names Database , produced by Soylent Communications, the same entity that produces Rotten, Daily Rotten, Dr. Sputnik's Society Pages and Penny Postcards, is an online database of biographical details of over 36,000 people of note...