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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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

who served as the 34th

Naval Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) 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 Territory) addresses to t ...

. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) 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 United States Secre ...

in 1905, serving on many ships as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

. He served as the inaugural

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...

of two ships: and . He served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as commander of the

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

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

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. The Guam Museum 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. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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 Unite ...

and then with the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

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 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home ...

. 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he oversaw the area's initial

WAVES United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

program.

Governorship

Root served as

from May 15, 1931 to June 21, 1933. Root caused controversy between the United States and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese governments in 1933 when he expelled 112 Japanese citizens from

after their residence permits expired. The Guam Museum 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 is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

. 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 Military personnel 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)