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Mason, John, c.1600–1672, American colonial military commander

(Encyclopedia)Mason, John, c.1600–1672, American colonial military commander, b. England. He was an army officer before emigrating (c.1630) to Massachusetts and then (1635) to Windsor, Conn. When the Pequot threa...

Nicholson, James William Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, James William Augustus, 1821–87, American naval officer, b. Dedham, Mass.; grandson of Samuel Nicholson. He was appointed a midshipman in 1838, served under Commodore Perry in East Asia (...

Stockdale, James Bond

(Encyclopedia)Stockdale, James Bond, 1923–2005, U.S. naval officer, b. Abingdon, Ill.; grad. U.S. Naval Academy, 1947. A fighter pilot and highly decorated career naval officer (1946–79), he was the highest ran...

Kane, Elisha Kent

(Encyclopedia)Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820–57, American physician and arctic explorer, b. Philadelphia. Seeking adventure after medical school, Kane entered naval service and before he was 30 had seen many parts of th...

Hanson, John

(Encyclopedia)Hanson, John, 1715–83, first “President of the United States in Congress Assembled,” b. Charles co., Maryland. He served in the Maryland provincial legislature, was active in the patriot cause i...

Kimball, William Wirt

(Encyclopedia)Kimball, William Wirt, 1848–1930, American naval officer, b. Paris, Maine, grad. Annapolis, 1869. One of the first to serve on torpedo boats, he did much in the 1880s to develop magazine and machine...

Wrangel, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von

(Encyclopedia)Wrangel, Wrangell, or Vrangel, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von all: răngˈgəl, Rus. fyĕrdyēnäntˈ pētrôˈvĭch vôn vränˈgĭl [key], 1796–1870, Russian naval officer, arctic explorer, and gov...

Buchanan, Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Buchanan, Franklin byo͞okăˈnən [key], 1800–1874, American naval officer, b. Baltimore. Appointed a midshipman in 1815, Buchanan rose to be a commander in 1841. He was chief adviser to Secretary ...

Hart, Lorenz Milton

(Encyclopedia)Hart, Lorenz Milton, 1895–1943, American lyricist, b. New York City, studied at Columbia. Hart began collaborating with Richard Rodgers in 1919; their initial success was The Garrick Gaieties (1925)...

navy

(Encyclopedia)navy, originally, all ships of a nation, whether for war or commerce; the term navy now designates only such vessels as are built and maintained specifically for war. There have been three major devel...