Francis P. Matthews
Francis Patrick Matthews (March 15, 1887–October 18, 1952) served as the 8th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from 1939 to 1945, the 49th United States Secretary of the Navy from 1949 to 1951, and the 8th United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1951 to 1952.
Biography
Born in Albion, Nebraska, Matthews spent most of his adult life in Omaha. He graduated from Creighton University in Omaha in 1913, then practiced law in that city from that time onward. He was active in business pursuits, civic and religious affairs and Democratic Party politics. From 1933 through 1949, he served as a consultant to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
During the Second World War, Mr. Matthews served as a Director and Vice President of the United Service Organizations (USO) and was also involved in war-relief work. He was Director (1941–1951) of the Department of Finance in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Following the war, he served briefly (1946–1947) on the President's Committee on Civil Rights.
Truman tapped Matthews in early 1949 to become Secretary of the Navy. Matthews entered the post in May 1949, at a time of internal turmoil in the Department of Defense resulting from significant funding reductions and controversial decisions on defense priorities. He served through the first year of the Korean War; during his two years in office, the federal government was massively increasing defense spending to meet international crises, and all the armed forces were under major strain as they simultaneously tried to meet the demands of a hot war in Asia and an intensive defense build-up in Europe.
One of the key events of Matthews' time at the Navy Department was the so-called "Revolt of the Admirals," an intense controversy between the Navy and the Air Force over which service would be in charge of strategic bombing and the dropping of nuclear weapons. The Navy wanted to build huge flush-deck carriers (known as "supercarriers"), while the Air Force wanted to focus on the Convair B-36 bomber. Top Navy leaders "revolted" when they publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the Defense Dept.'s policies, and several senior admirals (including ADM Louis E. Denfeld, Chief of Naval Operations) were forced to resign, or did so in protest.
Matthews resigned the Navy post in July 1951 to become Ambassador to Ireland, the home of his ancestors.
He died on October 18, 1952 in Ireland.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History & Heritage Command.
- Wolk, Herman S. The Revolt of the Admirals." Air Force (May 1988): 73.5. Online. Air Force Association. Viewed 30 April 2005.
- Lewis, Andrew L., LCDR, USN. The Revolt of the Admirals (April 1998). Student paper from Air Command and Staff College, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Viewed 30 April 2005.
- Notes on Meeting with Representatives of Navy League of the United States in SECNAV's Office, 11 January 1950.
External links
- Matthews biography from the Naval Historical Center
- Profile of Matthews from the Truman Presidential Library
- Francis Patrick Matthews Memorial at Find A Grave
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Martin H. Carmody |
Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus 1939–1945 |
Succeeded by John E. Swift |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by John L. Sullivan |
United States Secretary of the Navy May 25, 1949 – July 31, 1951 |
Succeeded by Dan A. Kimball |
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