SS ''Robert R. Livingston'' was a

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was named after

Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...

, a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britain ...

, a member of the

Committee of Five '' The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a group of five members who drafted and presented to the full Congress in Pennsylvania State House what would become the United States Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. T ...

that drafted the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of ...

, the 1st

United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs This is a list of secretaries of state of the United States. Secretaries of foreign affairs (1781–1789) On January 10, 1780, the Confederation Congress created the Department of Foreign Affairs. On August 10, 1781, Congress selected Robert ...

, the 1st

Chancellor of New York The New York Court of Chancery was the highest court in the State of New York from 1701 to 1847. History The New York Court of Chancery was established during the British colonial administration on August 28, 1701, with the colonial governor acting ...

, and a Minister to France.

Construction

''Robert R. Livingston'' was laid down on 3 January 1944, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 19 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1516, by

J.A. Jones Construction J.A. Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operating internationally since the 1950s, it merged with Germany's Philipp Holzmann, Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979. In 2003 the company ceased oper ...

, Brunswick, Georgia; she was sponsored by Mrs. Morton Funkhouser, daughter of

James Addison Jones James Addison Jones, (20 August 1869 - 25 May 1950) was the founder of J.A. Jones Construction, as well as being a known philanthropist for many organizations such as the Methodist Church, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding a ...

, and launched on 21 February 1944.

History

She was allocated to the A.H. Bull Company, on 29 February 1944. On 27 November 1946, she was laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corn ...

. On 5 August 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded with grain on 18 August 1954. She was again withdrawn from the fleet on 20 December 1959, to have the grain unloaded, she returned empty on 24 December 1959. On 2 January 1962, she was sold, along with two other ships, to

Zidell Exploration, Inc. The Zidell Companies are a group of family-owned companies based in Portland, Oregon. They include Zidell Marine, a ship construction company which, from 1961 until 2017, specialized in the building of barges, and Tube Forgings of America Inc. I ...

, for $193,707.91, for scrapping. She was delivered on 10 January 1962.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert R. Livingston Liberty ships Ships built in Brunswick, Georgia 1944 ships Astoria Reserve Fleet Astoria Reserve Fleet Grain Program Ships named for Founding Fathers of the United States