Charles Joseph Bonaparte

Charles Joseph Bonaparte
37th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office July 1, 1905 – December 16, 1906
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Paul Morton
Succeeded by	Victor H. Metcalf
46th United States Attorney General
In office December 17, 1906 – March 4, 1909
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	William H. Moody
Succeeded by	George W. Wickersham
Personal details
Born	June 9, 1851(1851-06-09) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	June 28, 1921(1921-06-28) (aged 70) Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ellen Channing Day Bonaparte
Alma mater	Harvard University
Profession	lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Charles Joseph Bonaparte (June 9, 1851 – June 28, 1921) was an American lawyer and political activist from Maryland who served in the Cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt. Bonaparte was Secretary of the Navy and then Attorney General. While Attorney General, he created the Bureau of Investigation (now the FBI). He was a great-nephew of Emperor Napoleon I of France.

Biography

Charles Joseph Bonaparte was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte (1805–1870) and Susan May Williams (1812–1881), from whom the American line of the Bonaparte family descended, and a grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Emperor Napoleon I. However, the American Bonapartes were not considered part of the dynasty and never used any titles.

He graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, where he later served as a university overseer. He practiced law in Baltimore and became prominent in municipal and national reform movements.

On September 1, 1875, Bonaparte married the former Ellen Channing Day (1852–1924), daughter of attorney Thomas Mills Day and Anna Jones Dunn. They had no children.

In 1899 Bonaparte was the keynote speaker for the first graduating class of the Notre Dame of Maryland University. He spoke on "The Significance of the Bachelor's Degree":

Today, and here for the first time in America, a Catholic college for the education of young ladies bestows the bachelor's degree...
The Style of Scholarship...which benefits the recipient of the bachelor's degree has two distinctive and essential marks. It implies in the first place a broad, generous sympathy with every form of honest, rational and disinterested study or research.
A Scholar who is also, and first of all, a gentleman may be...specially interested is some particular field of knowledge, but he is indifferent to none. He knows how to value every successful effort to master truth; how to look beyond the little things of science...to the great things - God's handiwork as seen in nature, God's mind as shadowed in the workings of the minds of men.
Young ladies, of this degree has such meaning for your brothers, what meaning has it for you

Bella Vista in 1907

Bonaparte lived in Baltimore County, Maryland and his home, Bella Vista, was designed by the architects Wyatt & Nolting in 1896. It lies east of Maryland Route 147. The house was not electrified since Bonaparte refused to have electricity or telegraph lines installed due to a dislike of technology, verified by his use of horse-drawn coach until his death.^{[citation needed]}

Bonaparte died in Bella Vista, and is interred at Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery. He died of "Saint Vitus Dance" (chorea). A nearby street in Baltimore County bears the name of Bonaparte Ave.

After Bonaparte's death the house was later owned by bootleggers Peter and Michael Kelly. After they left, it was destroyed in a fire caused by faulty wiring on January 20, 1933. The site was replaced by a poured concrete mansion, but a large carriage house dating back to 1896 is still on the estate.

Political activity

He was a member of the Board of Indian Commissioners from 1902 to 1904, chairman of the National Civil Service Reform League in 1904 and appointed a trustee of The Catholic University of America.

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Bonaparte Secretary of the Navy. In 1906 Bonaparte moved to the office of Attorney General, which he held until the end of Roosevelt's term. He was active in suits brought against the trusts and was largely responsible for breaking up the tobacco monopoly. In 1908, Bonaparte founded the Bureau of Investigation (BOI).

He was one of the founders, and for a time the president, of the National Municipal League.

Further reading

• Bishop, Joseph Bucklin (1922), Charles Joseph Bonaparte: His Life and Public Services, New York: C. Scribner's Sons 
• Goldman, Eric F. (1943), Charles J. Bonaparte: Patrician Reformer, His Earlier Career, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press 

Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by	Chairman of the National Civil Service Reform League 1904	Succeeded by
Preceded by James C. Carter	President of the National Municipal League 1903–1910	Succeeded by William D. Foulke
Government offices
Preceded by Paul Morton	37th United States Secretary of the Navy July 1, 1905 – December 16, 1906	Succeeded by Victor H. Metcalf
Legal offices
Preceded by William H. Moody	United States Attorney General Served under: Theodore Roosevelt December 17, 1906–March 4, 1909	Succeeded by George W. Wickersham