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James V. Forrestal

James V. Forrestal
James Forrestal - SecOfDef.jpg
1st United States Secretary of Defense
In office
September 17, 1947 – March 28, 1949
President Harry S. Truman
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Louis A. Johnson
48th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
May 19, 1944 – September 17, 1947
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Preceded by Frank Knox
Succeeded by John L. Sullivan
Personal details
Born James Vincent Forrestal
(1892-02-15)February 15, 1892
Matteawan, New York, U.S.
Died May 22, 1949(1949-05-22) (aged 57)
Montgomery County, Maryland, U.S.
Cause of death
Resting place Arlington National Cemetery Section 30 Lot 674 Grid X-39
38°53′02″N 77°03′55″W / 38.8837738°N 77.0653458°W / 38.8837738; -77.0653458
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Josephine Stovall Ogden (formerly Stovall) (1926)
Children Michael Forrestal
Peter Forrestal
Alma mater Dartmouth College
Princeton University
Profession Investment banker
Politician
Religion Catholic
Signature
Military service
Service/branch United States Navy
Rank Lieutenant
Battles/wars World War I

James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.

Forrestal was a supporter of naval battle groups centered on aircraft carriers. In 1954, the world's first supercarrier was named USS Forrestal in his honor, as is the James V. Forrestal Building, which houses the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy. He is also the namesake of the Forrestal Lecture Series at the United States Naval Academy, which brings prominent military and civilian leaders to speak to the Brigade of Midshipmen, and of the James Forrestal Campus of Princeton University in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey.

Forrestal was born in Matteawan, New York, (now part of Beacon, New York), the youngest son of James Forrestal, an Irish immigrant who dabbled in politics. His mother, the former Mary Anne Toohey (herself the daughter of another Irish immigrant) raised him as a devout Roman Catholic. He was an amateur boxer. After graduating from high school at the age of 16, in 1908, he spent the next three years working for a trio of newspapers: the Matteawan Evening Journal, the Mount Vernon Argus and the Poughkeepsie News Press.


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