William H. Hunt

William Henry Hunt (June 12, 1823 – February 27, 1884) was the 29th United States Secretary of the Navy, Minister to the Russian Empire and a judge of the Court of Claims.

Early life

Hunt was born on June 12, 1823, in

Hunt was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on April 18, 1878, to a seat on the Court of Claims (later the United States Court of Claims) vacated by Judge Ebenezer Peck.^[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 15, 1878, and received his commission the same day.^[1] His service terminated on March 11, 1881, due to his resignation.^[1][3]

Secretary of the Navy

Hunt served as United States Secretary of the Navy from 1881 to 1882, in the cabinets of President James A. Garfield and President Chester A. Arthur.^[1]

Minister to Russia

Hunt served as

• Ridgely Hunt (1854–1916), a Lt. in the
  U.S. Navy.^[5]
• Thomas Hunt (1855–1933), who married Helen Jewett, a daughter of U.S. Representative
  Hugh Judge Jewett, in 1888.^[6][7]
• Randell Hunt (1856–1898)
• Attorney General of Montana, Governor of Puerto Rico and Federal judge.^[8]
• Livingston Hunt (1859–1943),^[9] a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy who married Catharine Howland Hunt (1868–1963), a daughter of architect Richard Morris Hunt.^[10][11]
• Cornelia Ridgely Hunt (1861–1930), who married Dr. William Kelly Newton (1850–1909) in 1905.^[12]
• Gaillard Hunt (1862–1924), a historian who married Mary Goodfellow.^[13]

After the death of his first wife in 1864, he remarried to Sarah Harrison Barker (1819–1908), a daughter of New York merchant John T. Adams, in 1866.^[2]

He died on February 27, 1884, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire.^[2] His body was returned to the United States and after a funeral at St. John's Church in Washington, D.C. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington.^[14][15] He was a member of The Boston Club of New Orleans.^[16]

Legacy and honors

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Hunt for Hunt.^{[citation needed]}

References