Edmund Spence Root (December 27, 1881 – February 27, 1961) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

who served as the 34th

Naval Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territo ...

. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in 1905, serving on many ships as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

. He served as the inaugural

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of two ships: and . He served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as commander of the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

hunting , for which he received a letter of commendation. As governor, he generated controversy by expelling 112 Japanese laborers from

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

. The

Guam Museum The Guam Museum, formally the Senator Antonio M. Palomo Guam Museum & Chamorro Educational Facility, is a museum focusing on the history of Guam, a U.S. territory in Micronesia. A permanent building to house the museum's collection opened in Hag� ...

also opened during his term of office.

Early life

On December 27, 1882, Root was born in Delaware, Ohio. Root's parents were George Root and Lori Spence.

Career

Naval

Root was appointed to the

from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

in 1901. He reported aboard in 1906, and 1908 he served aboard as an

. On April 4, 1910, he began service aboard . In 1913, he served aboard . During

, Root served within the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

and then with the destroyer fleet stationed out of

Queenstown, Ireland Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

. In the war, he commanded , specifically seeking out and engaging German

s, for which he received a letter of commendation. On May 28, 1919, Root set sail aboard as her first

. In 1934, he served as the first commanding officer of . In the 1940s, he headed the naval officer procurement program in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where he oversaw the area's initial

WAVES Waves most often refers to: * Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band ...

program.

Governorship

Root served as

from May 15, 1931 to June 21, 1933. Root caused controversy between the United States and Japanese governments in 1933 when he expelled 112 Japanese citizens from

after their residence permits expired. The

opened during his term. The Edmund S. Root Agricultural School in Guam is named in his honor.

Personal life

On May 27, 1929 Root married La Mira D. Norton in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...

. On February 27, 1961, Root died in San Diego, California.

References

External links

Edmund Spence Root at findagrave.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root, Edmund Spence 1881 births 1961 deaths Governors of Guam People from San Diego United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I Military personnel from Ohio United States Navy captains WAVES (Navy) Military personnel from California