Franklin Knight Lane (July 15, 1864 – May 18, 1921) was a Canadian-American Democratic politician who served as United States Secretary of the Interior.
Lane was born July 15, 1864 in DeSable, Prince Edward Island, Canada, but in the 1870 his family moved to California. He attended the University of California, Class of 1886, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire he was a member of Mayor Eugene Schmitz's Committee of Fifty. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Secretary of the Interior in 1913 and he served until 1920. The accomplishments of his tenure include the formation of the National Park Service and the move of the Department headquarters from the Patent Office building to its own building. He was interested in the Interior Department's internal welfare and formed the Home Club to promote fellowship and teamwork.
Lane died May 18, 1921 in Rochester, Minnesota, and his ashes were scattered over Yosemite. He became better known posthumously by being quoted in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Pale Fire.
There is a high school within New York City named after Franklin Knight Lane. It straddles the border between Queens and Brooklyn. The team nickname is the "Knights." In early February 2007 it was added to the Schools Under Registration Review list of New York City for attaining deficient grades and is facing possible closure.
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