secretaryofthenavy

Benjamin F. Tracy. Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism during the Civil War and Thirty-Second Secretary of the Navy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_F._Tracy

Thank you for the information! We'll add the first name to the source data and reload the description.

This is my great-great grandfather. Thank you for sharing the picture.

This was taken at USS Texas's launching ceremony on 18 May 1912 at Newport News, Virginia.

Secretary Meyer is George Von Lengerke Meyer. As SecNav he had a major role in overhauling the antiquated structure of the navy. See Patrician in the progressive era : a biography of George Von Lengerke Meyer, by Wayne Wiegand, for an excellent biography.

bellhalla and desert11sailor: Thanks to both of you for providing more details on the events taking place in this photograph. We will add to the descriptive information. There is an interesting article in the May 18, 1912 edition of the New York Times about this event here, which also includes information on the apparently controversial choice of choosing Miss Claudia Lyon to do the honors. She was the daughter of Cecil Lyon, an active opponent of then President Taft.

From left to right of the frame, Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur, daughter Edna May Wilbur, and wife, Olive Wilbur, at the christening and launch of USS Saratoga (CV-3) at New York Shipbuilding, in Camden, NJ, on April 7, 1925 (see reversed date in the upper left corner of the frame). Olive Wilbur would have the honor of christening the ship. See also:

See also photo of the christening of the ship with mineral water from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in the Evening star. [volume], April 08, 1925, Page 17 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1925-04-08/ed-...

Thanks to you both, and especially for full names of the women. I love the detail about the mineral water! We will get the names and specific date into the record on our next update.