Frank Aleamon Leach (August 19, 1846 – June 19, 1929) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

newspaperman who was

Director of the United States Mint The director of the United States Mint is a presidential appointment that requires a Senate confirmation. The incumbent is Ventris Gibson, who became director of the Mint on June 22, 2022, after serving in acting capacity. When the position ...

from 1906 to 1909. In the aftermath of the 1906

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

, the heroic efforts by Frank A. Leach and his men preserved the old

San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kno ...

building and the bullion that then backed the nation's currency.

Biography

Frank A. Leach was born in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

on August 19, 1846, the son of Edwin Warren Leach and his wife Mary A. Leach. When he was a boy, his father moved to

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

to establish a

bottling Bottling lines are production lines that fill a product, generally a beverage, into bottles on a large scale. Many prepared foods are also bottled, such as sauces, syrups, marinades, oils and vinegars. Beer bottling process Packaging of bottle ...

plant there, and Frank and his mother later joined his father there. In 1857, the family moved to

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major t ...

. In 1867, at age 20, Leach became a

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

when he began publishing the Vallejo ''Evening-Chronicle''. He married Mary Louise Powell in Vallejo in December 1870. He published the ''Evening-Standard'' until 1886, when he moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and founded the Oakland ''Enquirer''. Leach retired from journalism in 1897 to become Superintendent of the

. In 1907, on the recommendation of

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

George B. Cortelyou,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

named Leach

and Leach held that office from September 1907 until August 1909. Frank Leach died on June 19, 1929. He is buried at

Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) The Mountain View Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Oakland, California, United States. It was established in 1863 by a group of East Bay pioneers under the California Rural Cemetery Act of 1859. The association they formed still operates the cem ...

, plot 14B.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Frank Aleamon 1846 births 1929 deaths Directors of the United States Mint Theodore Roosevelt administration personnel Taft administration personnel