William Franklin "Frank" Knox (January 1, 1874 - April 28, 1944) was the United States Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1940 until his death, a time span which included much of World War II. Prior to that, Knox was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate in 1936 under Alf Landon against FDR. However, the ticket lost in a landslide and only won eight electoral votes from the two states of Maine and Vermont.