Ballinger, Richard Achilles, 1858-1922

Richard Achilles Ballinger was mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1904–1906 and United States Secretary of the Interior from 1909–1911. He was born on July 9, 1858 in Boonesboro, Iowa, and graduated from Williams College in 1884. After serving as mayor of Seattle, Ballinger attracted the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt's administration and was appointed commissioner of the General Land Office from 1907 to 1909. In 1909, President William Howard Taft appointed him Secretary of the Interior. During his term, Ballinger sought to make public resources more available for private interests. He ran afoul of Gifford Pinchot, chief of the Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture, in a highly publicized controversy. Ballinger was accused of interfering in an investigation into the legality of private interests in coal reserves in Alaska. Taft supported Ballinger, and a congressional committee exonerated Ballinger. Nevertheless, Ballinger resigned in March 1911. During the investigation, Ballinger made known his views against conservationism. The controversy caused a rift between conservative Republicans led by Taft and progressive Republicans loyal to Roosevelt. The incident split the Republican Party and helped turn the election of 1912 against Taft. Ballinger died on June 6, 1922, in Seattle, Washington.