Wake Island
 

4 Jul 1898 - 23 Dec 1941; From 4 Sep 1945               23 Dec 1941 - 4 Sep 1945                   Adopted 1985 (unofficial)   Map of Wake Island Hear National Anthem  "The Star Spangled Banner" Text of  National Anthem Constitution Capital: None Currency: U.S. Dollar (USD) National Holiday: 4 Jul (1776) Independence Day ------------------------------------- Local Holiday: 22 Mar (1986) Wake Island Day Population: 75 (2008) small military contingent; no indigenous inhabitants GDP: $N/A Economic activity is limited to providing services. All food and goods are imported Exports: $N/A Imports: $N/A Ethnic Groups: N/A Total Active Armed Forces: N/A Defense is the Responsibility of the U.S. Merchant marine: None (2008) Religions: N/A Wake Island Chronology  2 Oct 1568                 Claimed for Spain by Álvaro de Mendaña y Neyra                                as Isla de San Francisco, not settled. 1796                        Visited by British Capt. Samuel Wake.  4 Jul 1898                 Occupied by U.S. 17 Jan 1899                 U.S. takes possession; island remains generally                                uninhabited (Wake Island). 17 Jan 1900                 Unincorporated territory of the U.S. 29 Dec 1934                 Administered by U.S. Navy (base begun 1940). 23 Dec 1941 -  4 Sep 1945   Occupied by Japan (renamed Otori Jima).  1 Jul 1947                 Wake Island Naval Air Base deactivated.  1 Jul 1947                 U.S. Navy delegates administration of Wake to                               Civil Aeronautics Administration (and later                               its successor Federal Aviation Agency [both                               within Department of Commerce until 1966,                               under Department of Transportation]).  5 Sep 1962 - Jul 1972      Administered by U.S. Department of Interior;                               actual administration of the island carried                               out by the caretaker the FAA. Jul 1972 -  1 Oct 1994      Administered by U.S. Air Force                               (Wake Island Air Force Base).  1 Oct 1994 - 16 Jan 1997   Administered by U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense                                Organization (within Department of Defense)                               funds Wake's actual administration, which                                the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense                               Command carries out under permit                              (Wake Island Missile Launch Facility). 16 Jan 1997                 Administered by U.S. Department of Interior;                                (activities on the island managed by                                 U.S. Air Force under permit).

Island Commanders
 4 Jul 1898                Francis Vinton Greene              (b. 1850 - d. 1921)
17 Jan 1899                Edward David Taussig               (b. 1847 - d. 1921)
1941 - 19 Aug 1941         Elmer B. Greey 
                             (resident officer-in-charge)
19 Aug 1941 - 15 Oct 1941  Lewis A. Hohn                      (b. 1907 - d. 1967)
15 Oct 1941 - 29 Nov 1941  James Patrick Sinnott Devereux     (b. 1903 - d. 1988)
29 Nov 1941 - 23 Dec 1941  Winfield Scott Cunningham          (b. 1900 - d. 1986)
23 Dec 1941 -  1 Jan 1942  Kajioka Sadamichi                  (b. 1891 - d. 1944)
 1 Jan 1942 - 13 Dec 1942  Susumu Kawasaki
13 Dec 1942 -  4 Sep 1945  Shigematsu Sakaibara               (b. 1894 - d. 1947)
 4 Sep 1945 -  9 Oct 1945  William Masek
 9 Oct 1945 - 1946?        Earl A. Junghans                   (b. 1907 - d. 1986)
1946? - 1993               ....
1993 - Aug 1994            James Andel
Aug 1994 - Jul 1995        Willis Alley
Jul 1995 - 200.            ....
200. - Aug 2006            Vinh Trinh
Aug 2006 - 200.            Nate Harris
Governors (from 1972, U.S. Air Force General Counsels in Washington, D.C.)
1972 - 1984                ....
1984 - 1986                Eugene A. Sullivan
1986 - 1987                Kathleen A. Buck (f)
1987 - 1989                Anne Newman Foreman (f)
1989 - 1993                Ann C. Peterson (f)                (b. 1950)
1993 - 1994                Gilbert F. Casellas 
Mar 1995 - Oct 1998        Sheila C. Cheston (f)
1998 - 2001                Jeh Charles Johnson
 8 Nov 2001 - 20 Jan 2009  Mary L. Walker (f)                 (b. 1949?)
20 Jan 2009 - Jun 2009     Robert T. Maguire (acting)
Jun 2009 -                 Charles A. Blanchard               (b. 1959?)

 
Territorial Dispute: Claimed by the Marshall Islands.