Beekman Winthrop

Beekman Winthrop (September 18, 1874 – November 10, 1940) was an American lawyer, government official and banker. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1907, as assistant secretary of the Treasury in 1907–1909, and assistant secretary of the Navy in 1909–1913. Early life The son of Robert Winthrop and Kate Wilson Taylor, Beekman "Beek" Winthrop came from a family of wealth and influence in New York. He was born in Orange, New Jersey, and attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in 1897 and a LL.B degree from Harvard Law School in 1900, graduating second in his class. Career A descendant of both John Winthrop, first Governor of Massachusetts, and John Winthrop, the Younger, first Governor of Connecticut, immediately after graduating he became a personal secretary to future president William Howard Taft while Taft was Governor-General of the Philippines. Winthrop was soon promoted to Assistant Executive Secretary of the Philippines (1901–1903) and was appointed as a Judge of the Court of First Instance, Philippine Islands (1903–1904). He was known to be a personal friend of Theodore Roosevelt and was appointed by him in 1904 as Governor and General Commander of Puerto Rico, at age 28. He was confirmed by the Congress. Melza Riggs Wood (1870–1928), four years his senior, whom he married in 1903, became the First Lady of Puerto Rico.