Adolph E. Borie

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=Adolph Edward Borie


order=25th
title=United States Secretary of the Navy
term_start=March 9, 1869
term_end=June 25, 1869
predecessor=Gideon Welles
successor=George M. Robeson
birth_date=birth date|1809|11|25|mf=y
birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death_date=death date and age|1880|2|5|1809|11|25
death_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
party=Republican
spouse=
profession=Politician
religion=

Adolph Edward Borie (November 25, 1809 – February 5,1880) was a United States politician who briefly served (1869) as Secretary of the Navy in the Grant administration.

Borie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1825. In 1843 he was U.S Consul in Belgium. He became a Republican and supported the Union cause in the Civil War.

In 1868 he was nominated as Secretary of Navy by President-elect Grant whom he had befriended, but served only a few months (March 9 to June 25) in the position. He returned to private life in order to resume his business interests, but remained close friends with Grant.

Two ships have been named USS "Borie" for him.

Borie disliked the native American names borne by so many Navy ships, and during his very short term as Secretary of the Navy, had a great many vessels renamed to terms from classical antiquity such as Centaur, Medusa, Goliath, and Atlas. His successor, George M. Robeson, had most of these ships reverted to their original names a few months later. [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq63-1.htm] [http://www.mariner.org/monitor/08_legacy/intro_monitor.html] Ironically, Borie was a Philadelphian associated with the town (now Philadelphia neighborhood) of Manayunk, and one of the vessels that was never given back its original name was USS Manayunk, which permanently kept its new name USS "Ajax".