William Jones (statesman)

William Jones (1760 – September 6, 1831) was an American politician.

William Jones
President of the Second Bank of the United States
In office January 7, 1817 – January 25, 1819
President	James Madison James Monroe
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	James Fisher (Acting)
United States Secretary of the Treasury Acting
In office May 9, 1813 – February 8, 1814
President	James Madison
Preceded by	Albert Gallatin
Succeeded by	George W. Campbell
4th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office January 19, 1813 – December 1, 1814
President	James Madison
Preceded by	Paul Hamilton
Succeeded by	Benjamin Crowninshield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 1st district
In office March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803
Preceded by	Robert Waln
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	1760 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	(1831-09-06)September 6, 1831 (aged 71) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Continental Army
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War

Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Apprenticed in a shipyard, during the American Revolutionary War, he saw combat in the battles of Trenton and Princeton and later served at sea. In the decades that followed the war, he was a successful merchant in Charleston, South Carolina, and in Philadelphia. He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1800 and was offered the office of Secretary of the Navy in 1801, but declined and remained in Congress to the end of his term in 1803.

With the War of 1812 raging, Jones became Secretary of the Navy in January 1813. His policies contributed greatly to American success on the Great Lakes and to a strategy of coastal defense and commerce raiding on the high seas. In late 1814, near the end of his term, he made recommendations on the reorganization of the Navy Department. These led to the establishment of the Board of Commissioners system which operated from 1815 until 1842.

From May 1813 to February 1814, Jones also served as acting Secretary of the Treasury and in 1816 was appointed President of the Second Bank of the United States.[1][2] He returned to commercial pursuits in 1819. Jones died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The destroyer USS William Jones (DD-308) was named in his honor.