Editing Frank C. Walker (section)

==Biography==
Frank Walker was born in [[Plymouth, Pennsylvania]], the son of David Walker (1848–1902), a grocer,<ref>1900 US Census, West Cooper St., Butte, Montana</ref> and his wife, Ellen Comerford (1851–1916). His father moved his family to Montana about 1890, where he became the foreman of the Butte City Copper Mine. He died in 1902 of tuberculosis.<ref>Obituary, ''The Times Leader'', May 10, 1902.</ref><ref>Montana Certificate of Death No. 6435, of 1902.</ref>

Frank Walker attended [[Gonzaga University]] in [[Spokane, Washington]] for three years and earned a law degree from [[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]] in 1909. He then joined his older brother [[Thomas Joseph Walker|Thomas]] in a law practice in [[Butte, Montana]]. In 1913, he was elected to a term as a [[Montana House of Representatives|Montana state representative]].

During [[World War I]], Walker volunteered for the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]. He became a [[first lieutenant]] and saw action on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. After the war, he returned to his law practice.

He married Hallie Victoria Boucher (1892–1969) at Butte on November 11, 1914.<ref>State of Montana, Marriage License No. 6516, November 10, 1914.</ref> They had two children, Thomas and Laura.<ref>[http://archives.nd.edu/findaids/ead/html/WLK000.htm Frank C. Walker Papers (1925–1959)]</ref>

In 1925, he moved to [[New York City]] to become manager and general counsel of Comerford Theatres, a chain of [[movie theater]]s owned by his uncle Michael E. Comerford. For a time he was the pro-bono legal advisor to the Motion Picture Theater Owners of America, a trade organization.

In New York, Walker expanded his political activities, and became an early supporter of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. In 1931, he co-founded the Roosevelt for President Society, and from 1932 to 1934, served as Treasurer of the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC).<ref name=NYT-19320801>{{Cite news |title=F. C. Walker Named as Aide to Farley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/01/archives/fc-walker-named-as-aide-to-farley-theatre-lawyer-here-former.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 1, 1932 |page=6 |volume=LXXXI |issue=27218}}</ref><ref name=NYT-19340108>{{Cite news |title=2 Quit Party Jobs as Roosevelt Hits Lobby Practices |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/01/18/archives/2-quit-party-jobs-as-roosevelt-hits-lobby-practices-frank-c-walker.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 18, 1934 |page=1 |volume=LXXXIII |issue=27753 |edition=Late City}}</ref> Until Roosevelt's death, Walker was one of his closest advisers.

When Roosevelt became President in 1933, he appointed Walker executive secretary of
the [[National Emergency Council]], a [[New Deal]] agency related to the [[National Recovery Administration|NRA]].

In 1940, Walker became Postmaster General (succeeding [[James Farley]], who had also been DNC Chairman and Roosevelt's campaign manager). As Postmaster General, Walker continued his role as political adviser, often taking part in matters far removed from the [[United States Postal Service|Post Office]]. For example, during the negotiations which preceded the December 1941 [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], he was in regular contact with [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] Ambassador [[Kichisaburo Nomura|Nomura]].<ref>
{{cite book
  | last = Feis
  | first = Herbert
  | title = The Road to Pearl Harbor
  | publisher = Atheneum
  | edition = 2nd
  | year = 1962
  | location = New York
  | orig-year = 1050
  | pages = 176n, 304, 307n}}
</ref>

In 1943, Walker became Chairman of the DNC, serving until 1944, when he stepped down and was succeeded by [[Robert Hannegan]]. In May 1945, Walker announced his retirement as Postmaster General, to allow President [[Harry Truman]] to appoint his own candidate to the office. Truman selected Hannegan to succeed Walker in this office too, effective July 1.

Later in 1945, Truman appointed Walker as a member of the first U.S. delegation to the [[United Nations]].

He died in [[New York City]] on September 13, 1959, at the age of 73 and was buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery, [[Butte, Montana]].