Stephen Victor Graham was an United States Naval

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Rear Admiral and the 18th Governor of American Samoa from September 9, 1927 to August 2, 1929. Graham attended the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 and served on numerous ships before being posted to the governorship. As governor, he established the Bank of American Samoa

Bank of American Samoa

The Bank of American Samoa no longer exists. In 1969 Bank of Hawaii acquired the bank, which then had three branches. BOH amalgamated Bank of American Samoa and now operates two branches in Pago Pago, Tutuila....

 and reworked Samoan fiscal law. After his governorship, he worked at the Naval Academy as the head of the Modern Languages department.

Naval career

Graham was appointed to the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

  from Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 on May 19, 1890. He graduated July 1, 1896, and received the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) on July 1, 1899. He served on the USS Cincinnati

USS Cincinnati (C-7)

USS Cincinnati was a protected cruiser of the United States Navy and was launched on 10 November 1892 by New York Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss S. Mosby; and commissioned on 16 June 1894, Captain Henry Glass in command...

, USS Adams

USS Adams (1874)

USS Adams was a screw gunboat and the lead ship of the Adams class.Adams was built as a single screw, wooden-hull, bark-rigged steamer. The ship was laid down in February 1874 at Boston, Massachusetts, by Donald MacKay; and was launched on 24 October 1874. The new ship was commissioned on 21 July...

, USS Saratoga, and the USS Rainbow

USS Rainbow (AS-7)

USS Rainbow is the only ship in the United States Navy by that name. The ship was originally converted to a distilling ship in 1898, and then converted again in 1917 to a submarine tender....

. Later in his career, as a Lieutenant commander

Lieutenant commander (United States)

Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...

, Graham headed the Department of Modern Languages at the United States Naval Academy. After retiring, Graham was awarded the rank of Rear admiral

Rear admiral (United States)

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...

 on March 3, 1931.

Governorship

On September 9, 1927, Graham became governor. While in office, Graham established the Bank of American Samoa

Bank of American Samoa

The Bank of American Samoa no longer exists. In 1969 Bank of Hawaii acquired the bank, which then had three branches. BOH amalgamated Bank of American Samoa and now operates two branches in Pago Pago, Tutuila....

 and amended current fiscal laws for the island. He ceded the post to Gatewood Sanders Lincoln on August 2, 1929.