Luke Edward Wright

Luke Wright
43rd United States Secretary of War
In office July 1, 1908 – March 11, 1909
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	William H. Taft
Succeeded by	Jacob M. Dickinson
United States Ambassador to Japan
In office May 26, 1906 – August 13, 1907
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (Minister)
Succeeded by	Thomas O'Brien
Governor-General of the Philippines
In office February 1, 1904 – April 1, 1906
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	William H. Taft
Succeeded by	Henry C. Ide
Personal details
Born	Luke Edward Wright (1846-08-29)August 29, 1846 Giles County, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	November 17, 1922(1922-11-17) (aged 76) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (Before 1896) Republican (1896–1922)
Spouse(s)	Katherine Semmes
Education	University of Mississippi, Oxford
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Luke Edward Wright (August 29, 1846 – November 17, 1922) was a United States political figure. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines between 1904 and 1906 and also as Secretary of War from 1908 to 1909.

Biography[]

Luke Edward Wright was born in Giles County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to Memphis in 1850. He attended the public schools, and enlisted at fifteen in the Confederate States Army with Company G of the 154th Senior Tennessee Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. In 1863, Wright was cited for bravery under fire in the Battle of Murfreesboro and promoted to second lieutenant. After the Civil War, Wright attended the University of Mississippi from 1867 to 1868, but he did not graduate. He was a member of the Delta Psi fraternity ( AKA St. Anthony Hall ) In 1868 General Luke Edward Wright was married to Miss Katherine Middleton Semmes, a daughter of Admiral Raphael Semmes of the Confederate States navy.

After studying law in his father's office, Wright was admitted to the bar and entered into practice in Memphis. For eight years, he served as Tennessee Attorney General, and he was instrumental in establishing a relief committee during an epidemic of yellow fever in 1878. Before the nomination of William Jennings Bryan, Wright was a Democrat.^[1][2] In 1900, Wright was a member of the second Philippine Commission and was appointed vice-governor of the Philippines in 1901. Wright became full Governor-General of the Philippines in 1904 and continued in that office until 1906. From 1906 to 1907, Wright served as the first full United States Ambassador to Japan.

From July 1, 1908 to March 11, 1909, Wright served as United States Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt. He stressed actions to eliminate unfit officers and sought to take advantage of aviation technology. He served less than a year before resigning. He returned to private life and died in Memphis in 1922.

Legacy[]

The "Pool of Pines", better known as Wright Park in Baguio, Philippines was named after Governor Luke E. Wright, the architect of this long, shallow reflecting pool. A street in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province is named after him.

References[]

• Bell, William Gardner. "Luke Edward Wright". Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luke Edward Wright.

• Wright Park, Baguio City Philippines