Claude A. Swanson
Claude A. Swanson | |
|---|---|
Portrait c. 1933–39 | |
| 45th United States Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office March 5, 1933 – July 7, 1939 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Charles Francis Adams III |
| Succeeded by | Charles Edison |
| United States Senator from Virginia | |
| In office August 1, 1910 – March 4, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | John W. Daniel |
| Succeeded by | Harry F. Byrd |
| 45th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office February 1, 1906 – February 10, 1910 | |
| Lieutenant | James Taylor Ellyson |
| Preceded by | Andrew Montague |
| Succeeded by | William Hodges Mann |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1893 – January 30, 1906 | |
| Preceded by | Posey G. Lester |
| Succeeded by | Edward W. Saunders |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Claude Augustus Swanson March 31, 1862 Swansonville, Virginia, C.S. |
| Died | July 7, 1939 (aged 77) Rapidan Camp, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
. Lulie Lyons Hall (m. 1923) |
| Education | Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Randolph-Macon College (BA) University of Virginia (LLB) |
Claude Augustus Swanson (March 31, 1862 – July 7, 1939) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Virginia. He served as U.S. Representative (1893–1906), Governor of Virginia (1906–1910), and U.S. Senator from Virginia (1910–1933), before becoming U.S. Secretary of the Navy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 until his death. Swanson and fellow U.S. Senator Thomas Staples Martin led a Democratic political machine in Virginia for decades in the late 19th and early 20th century, which later became known as the Byrd Organization for Swanson's successor as U.S. Senator, Harry Flood Byrd.