Adolph Edward Borie was an American businessman and politician. He served as Secretary of the Navy in 1869.
Background
Adolph Borie was born on November 25, 1809, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the eldest of the twelve children of John Joseph Borie, a Frenchman who established himself early in the nineteenth century as a merchant and manufacturer at Philadelphia and of Sophia Beauveau, a refugee from Haiti.
Education
Adolph graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1825, and studied and traveled in Europe.
Career
In 1828, Adolph Borie entered his father's mercantile business. His firm carried on trade with Mexico, the West Indies, and the Far East, engaging particularly in the silk and tea trade. His mercantile career extended over a period of about thirty years, during the epoch of the clipper ships, when Philadelphia's foreign trade was in its prime. The magnitude of his operations is indicated by his complaints of property damages amounting to $100, 000 in China during the disturbances of 1857-1858. He was a pioneer in seeking the diplomatic and naval support of the government for safeguarding his interests abroad. Gradually he became interested in financial and railroad enterprises, serving from 1848 to 1860 as president of the Bank of Commerce, and becoming director in several leading business institutions of Philadelphia.
Before the Civil War, his connection with political affairs was slight. In 1843 he was consul to Belgium. He supported Lincoln in 1860, and upon the outbreak of the Civil War became an ardent Unionist. His war-time acquaintance with Gen. Grant developed into an intimacy, and led to the appointment of Borie in 1869 as secretary of the navy. With no experience and little interest in public life, with varied business connections and fragile health, his tenure of office was largely nominal, and he resigned June 25 of the same year. He held no other important public office.
Borie was a noted patron of art and learning. His collection of paintings received considerable recognition. His philanthropies were varied and extensive. His continued intimacy with Grant resulted in his being invited to join the ex-President's party which toured the world in 1878-1879. Shortly before the conclusion of the tour his age and ill health caused him to withdraw from the party, and early the next year he died in the city of his birth.
Achievements
Politics
Adolph Borie was a champion of Whig policies, particularly protection. After 1854 he became a member of the Republican party.
Connections
In 1839 Adolph Borie married Elizabeth Dundas McKean.