USS Frank Knox

Named for William Franklin Knox who was born on 1 January 1874 in Boston, Mass. He attended Alma College in Alma, Michigan. Knox served in Cuba with the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, Theodore Roosevelt’s famous "Rough Riders,” in the Spanish-American War, during which time, when he had been temporarily separated from that famed unit he fought alongside the Tenth Cavalry (Colored). “Fought with them shoulder to shoulder,” he wrote, “and in justice to the colored race I must say that I never saw braver men anywhere. Some of those who rushed up [San Juan Hill] will live in my memory forever.”

Knox changed his first name to Frank in about 1900 and became a newspaper reporter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was the beginning of a career that grew to include the ownership of several papers. During World War I, Knox advocated preparedness and United States participation. He remained active in the Army Reserve during his distinguished career in journalism and served in France during World War I as an artillery officer, rising to major, and later, colonel.

In 1931, Frank Knox became publisher and part owner of the Chicago Daily News . An active Republican, he was the party's nominee for Vice President under Alf Landon in the 1936 election. They lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide, winning only two states in the electoral vote.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Frank Knox (DD-742)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.