of the board members had retired prior to America's entry into the war and none had any personal familiarity with conditions in the war zone. (Knight himself had spent the war in a distant theater.) The Knight Board was in session from March 17, 1919, to October 31, 1919, when it was suddenly dissolved by Secretary Daniels before completing its work and before many of the most important recommendations had been received. Daniels disregarded most of the board's recommendations and drew up his own list of awards. Daniels' list aroused immediate outrage for its perceived caprice; in particular, every commanding officer of a ship that had been sunk by the enemy received the Distinguished Service Medal, while many commanding officers of ships that sank enemy vessels received no medal. Many officers refused the medals awarded them, most prominently Admiral William Sims. Daniels hastily reconvened the Knight Board, but the second session's recommendations fared little better than the first, as the final decision over which medals to award remained the sole prerogative of the Secretary of the Navy. The awards fiasco led directly to the creation of a largely independent Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals. Legacy Knight died February 26, 1927, at Washington, D.C., and was buried at the Naval Academy Cemetery. He was President of the Naval Historical Foundation from 1926 until his death. On November 17, 1930, he was posthumously advanced to admiral on the retired list with date of rank February 26, 1927, in recognition of his World War I service. Knight was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for meritorious service as commander in chief of the Asiatic Fleet during Allied naval operations at Vladivostok, Siberia. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun by the government of Japan. In 1901, Knight wrote Modern Seamanship, a guide to shiphandling and safety which became famous as the sailor's bible for pleasure boaters and professional seamen alike. The textbook was repeatedly updated for over eighty years, publishing its eighteenth edition in 1988. Knight married Alice Tobey, step-daughter of Wisconsin Governor Harrison Ludington, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 3, 1878. Alice died the following year, a few days after giving birth to their daughter, also named Alice. Several years later, at Annapolis, Maryland, on April 29, 1886, Knight married Elizabeth Harwood Welsh. He and Elizabeth had three children, Dorothy, Richard, and Katharine, the latter of whom married