E. T. Pollock

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Edwin Taylor Pollock
)
E. T. Pollock
Navy Cross
Other workMilitary Governor of the U. S. Virgin Islands (acting) and American Samoa

Edwin Taylor Pollock (October 25, 1870 – June 4, 1943) was a career officer in the United States Navy, serving in the Spanish–American War and in World War I. He was later promoted to the rank of captain.

As a young

Navy Cross. Afterward, he was made the eighth Naval Governor of American Samoa and then the superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory
, before retiring in 1927.

Early career

Originally from Mount Gilead, Ohio, Pollock attended the United States Naval Academy and, as a midshipman, was assigned to USS Lancaster and USS Monocacy.[1] He graduated with a rank of ensign in 1893.

After graduation, Pollock returned to Ohio and married Beatrice E. Law Hale on December 5.[2] Two weeks later, he was assigned to the cruiser USS New York during its initial shake-down.[3] He was subsequently assigned to the gunboat USS Machias for an expedition to China.[4] He remained in China for two and a half years as part of the Asiatic Squadron, then transferring to USS Detroit before returning home in 1897.[5] On his return home, the Spanish–American War was heating up and he was reassigned to New York, to see service in Cuba and Puerto Rico, eventually taking part in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.[6]

In January 1900, he was promoted to

Cavite Naval Base.[12] At Cavite, he was promoted to lieutenant commander in February 1906.[13]

His first duty as a lieutenant commander was on USS Alabama, as the navigator.[14] In 1910, Pollock was reassigned to USS Massachusetts, where he was promoted to commander in March 1911.[15][16]

On his promotion, Pollock commanded USS Virginia and USS Kearsarge, before being transferred to the United States Naval Observatory.[17] During his command of Kearsarge, Pollock briefly commanded USS Salem for a world-record setting wireless experiment. For this feat, Salem was outfitted with 16 different wireless telegraph technologies and sailed to Gibraltar, with Pollock commanding. On arrival, they tested these technologies and set a world-record for longest wireless telegraph distance, 2,400 miles (3,900 km), using a "Poulsen Apparatus", based on principles by Valdemar Poulsen. Experiments were also conducted to determine wireless characteristics during inclement weather and during both the day and night.[18] In 1916, he was put in command of USS Alabama, the ship on which he had been the navigator.[19]

U.S. Virgin Islands

President Woodrow Wilson nominated James Harrison Oliver to be the first military governor.[22] The United States announced plans to build a naval base in the territory to aid in the protection of the Panama Canal.[23]

Oliver was unable to travel immediately to the Islands and the honor of being the first Acting Governor of the

Valkyrien and the former island legislature.[24] The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, less than a week after securing the islands. Oliver was confirmed by Congress
on April 20 and relieved Pollock as governor.

World War I

During the war, Pollock was appointed as captain on

Paris Peace Conference, though Pollock would not make the trip. He was reassigned on September 29, 1918.[26]

While on board George Washington, Pollock and

Outlook magazine called the book "readable" and "admirably illustrated". It "abounds in clever bits of fun, queer and notable incidents, and sound and patriotic editorials."[27]
After the war, he was eventually reassigned to the battleship
Navy Cross for his services during the war.[28]

American Samoa

Map of American Samoa
Map of American Samoa

On November 30, 1921, Pollock was transferred from command of Oklahoma to become the Military Governor of American Samoa.[29] Events both personal and political had led to a previous governor, Warren Terhune's, suicide on November 3, 1920, and the appointment of Governor Waldo A. Evans to conduct a court of inquiry into the situation and to restore order. Pollock succeeded Evans, who had successfully restored the government and productivity of the islands after a period of unrest.[30] At this time, American Samoa was administered by a team of twelve officers and a governor, with a total population of approximately 8,000 people. The islands were primarily important due to the excellent harbor at Pago Pago.[31]

Beginning in 1920, a

Edwin C. Denby, was not permitted by Evans to enter the port at American Samoa and returned to exile in California, where he later became the mayor of Richmond.[30]

After being appointed as governor, Pollock's continued the colonization work started by his predecessor. Prior to traveling to the territory, he met with Ripley in San Francisco, California. Although Ripley maintained that American "occupation" of Samoa was usurpation, he agreed to allow Pollock to govern unfettered and to provide him with copies of his letters. Almost immediately after arriving on the island, Pollock and Secretary of Native Affairs S. D. Hall met with representatives of the Mau, becoming the first governor to do so. Shortly afterwards, some members of the Mau disbanded, though the movement would continue in some form for another 13 years.[30]

Pollock's remaining time as governor was less eventful. While exploring

Captain Cook on his expedition there in 1773. The turtle was thus known to have lived more than 150 years.[32] He was ordered home on July 26, 1923.[33]

United States Naval Observatory

Asaph Hall's telescope at the U.S. Naval Observatory

Immediately on leaving Samoa, Pollock was appointed superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., replacing outgoing Rear Admiral William D. MacDougal.[34]

On August 22, 1924, Mars came within 34,630,000 miles (55,730,000 km) of Earth. The U.S. Naval Observatory made no formal observations of the planet, but Pollock and the son of astronomer Asaph Hall ceremonially re-enacted Hall's 1877 discoveries of the moons Phobos and Deimos with his original 17-inch (430 mm) telescope.[35] They also made observations to calculate the masses of the two moons.[36]

On January 24, 1925, Pollock commanded the

dirigible USS Los Angeles on a flight from Lakehurst, New Jersey, to photograph a solar eclipse from an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 m). This was the first time an eclipse had been photographed from the air.[37]

After retirement

Pollock retired from service in 1927 and was replaced as superintendent by Captain Charles F. Freeman.[38] In 1930, Pollock and his wife purchased a summer home in Jamestown, Rhode Island, while continuing to maintain their main residence in Washington, D.C. In 1932, he was made a director of the Jamestown Historical Society.[39] He also became interested in genealogy and published several works on his family's history through the 1930s.[40] He died on June 4, 1943, after a long illness and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on June 7, 1943.[41]

Works

  • Hatchet of the United States Ship "George Washington", edited by Pollock and Paul F. Bloomhardt. A compilation of stories from The Hatchet, a daily printed on board George Washington during the First World War. Published 1919.

References

  1. ^ "Army and Navy". New York Times. 1891-06-03. p. 6.; "Cadets To Be Examined". New York Times. 1893-04-13. p. 3.
  2. ^ Ulrich, Ron. "Edwin Taylor Pollock/Beatrice E. Law Hale". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  3. ^ "New-York's Trial Ended". New York Times. 1893-12-15. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Machias Will Sail For China". New York Times. 1894-08-26. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Old Salts Spin Yarns". New York Times. 1897-05-18. p. 3.
  6. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1898-04-28. p. 3.
  7. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1900-01-28. p. 4.
  8. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1900-05-24. p. 5.; "The United Service". New York Times. 1900-11-21. p. 11.
  9. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1901-03-09. p. 5.
  10. ^ "The Brooklyn Home Again". New York Times. 1902-05-02. p. 3.
  11. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1903-05-23. p. 14.
  12. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1904-08-14. p. 13.; "Orders to Naval Officers". Washington Post. 1905-07-01. p. R8.
  13. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1904-08-14. p. 13.; "The United Service". New York Times. 1906-02-03. p. 7.
  14. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1906-09-12. p. 6.
  15. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1907-05-02. p. 9.
  16. ^ "United States Navy". New York Times. 1910-08-25. p. E2.
  17. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1912-06-14. p. 21.; "The United Service". New York Times. 1913-03-27. p. 21.
  18. ^ "Wireless Feat Breaks Record". Los Angeles Times. 1913-03-12. p. I5.
  19. ^ "The United Service". New York Times. 1916-01-08. p. 17.
  20. ^ "Virgin Island Deal Foiled Berlin Plan". Washington Post. 1917-04-10. p. 1.
  21. ^ Wilfred Schoff (1916-08-18). "The Danish West Indies Ought to Pay". Los Angeles Times. p. II4.
  22. ^ a b "Oliver to Govern Our New Islands". New York Times. 1917-03-29. p. 12.
  23. ^ "Pay Danes For Island". Washington Post. 1917-04-01. p. 10.
  24. ^ "U.S. Flag Over Virgin Islands". Washington Post. 1917-04-02. p. 5.
  25. ^ a b "'Gobs' Play Hosts to Navy Officers". New York Times. 1921-06-21. p. 20.
  26. ^ Edwin Taylor Pollock and Paul F. Bloomhardt, ed. (1919). The Hatchet of the United States ship "George Washington" (2nd ed.). New York: J.J. Little & Ives Co. p. 236.
  27. ^ "War Books". Outlook: 581. 1919-08-13.
  28. ^ "Navy War Honors Omit Sims' Name". Washington Post. 1920-11-11. p. 4.
  29. ^ "Denby Appoints Governors". New York Times. 1921-12-01. p. 24.
  30. ^ a b c Gray, J. A. C. (1960). Amerika Samoa: History Of American Samoa And Its United States Naval Administration. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 194–210.
  31. ^ Overstreet, L. M. (1922-10-18). "Always On Guard". Outlook. pp. 290–294.
  32. ^ "Turtle Branded by Capt. Cook In 1773 Is Now Found Alive". New York Times. 1923-06-28. p. 1.
  33. ^ "Naval Orders". New York Times. 1923-07-28. p. 19.
  34. ^ "News of Army and Navy". Washington Post. 1923-09-02. p. 15.
  35. ^ "Mars to be Photographed". New York Times. 1924-08-20. p. 12.
  36. ^ "Army Radio Force to Listen For Signals from Martians". Washington Post. 1924-08-21. p. 9.
  37. ^ "Scientists on Los Angeles Praise First Dirigible Eclipse Flight". New York Times. 1925-01-25. pp. 1–2.
  38. ^ "Capt. E.T. Pollock Rites Tomorrow". Washington Post. 1943-06-06. p. M15.
  39. ^ "Captain E. T. Pollock Dies In Washington". Newport Mercury And Weekly News. 1943-06-11. p. 3.
  40. ^ Pitoni, Ven (1985-09-20). "What's In a Name?". Fredrick Post. p. A-7.
  41. ^ Sorensen, Stan (13 June 2008). "Historical Notes" (PDF). Tapuitea. Vol. III, no. 24. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 2011-08-16.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Henri Konow
(Acting – Final Danish Governor)
Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands

1917
(Acting)
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Governor of American Samoa

1922–1923
Succeeded by