List of United States Naval Academy alumni
During the latter half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, the United States Naval Academy was the primary source of U.S. Naval officers. Naval Academy alumni now include many of the U.S. Navy's most famous names. In addition, over fifty U.S. astronauts have graduated from the Naval Academy, more than from any other undergraduate institution. As of January 2006, four graduates were honored as Bioneer EarthSea-Keepers, a new UNEP designator for notable oceanographers.
Alumni
Pre-Civil War
- Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), Class of 1859 - theorist of naval warfare as Sea Power
- Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1911), Class of 1860 - commander in Spanish-American War
Civil War to 1900
- Rear Admiral William T. Sampson (1840-1902), Class of 1861 - commander in Spanish-American War
- Rear Admiral Charles Dwight Sigsbee (1845-1923), Class of 1863 - Captain of USS Maine when it exploded in Havana harbor in 1898; commanded squadron which returned body of John Paul Jones from France to the Naval Academy in 1905.
- Albert Abraham Michelson (physicist) (1852-1931), Class of 1873 - First American to receive a Nobel Prize in Physics.
- Admiral William Sowden Sims (1858-1936), Class of 1880 - World War I commander; President of the Naval War College
- Rear Admiral William A. Moffett (1869-1933), Class of 1890 - pioneer of Naval aviation; first Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics
- Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (1875-1959), Class of 1897 - (CNO: 1937-1939) became the first fleet admiral during World War II and crafted a future thought leadership role model for the first chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1900 to World War II
- Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (1876-1956), Class of 1901 - Chief of Naval Operations in World War II.
- VADM Emory S. Land (1879-1971) Class of 1902 - Chairman of the U.S. Maritime Commission during World War II who oversaw establishment of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
- Admiral Harold Rainsford Stark (1880-1972) Class of 1903 - Chief of Naval Operations during outbreak of World War II.
- Fleet Admiral William Halsey, Jr., (1882-1959), Class of 1904 - World War II commander
- Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz (1885-1966), Class of 1905 - World War II commander; post-war Chief of Naval Operations.
- VADM John S. McCain, Sr. (1884-1945), Class of 1906 - Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) during 1943-1944.
- Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (1888-1972), Class of 1908 - Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
- Admiral Marc Mitscher (1887-1947), Class of 1910 - Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
- RADM Frederick Lois Riefkohl (1889-1969), Class of 1911 - Navy Cross recipient. Captain of USS Vincennes
- RADM Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957), Class of 1912 - Arctic and Antarctic explorer. Assistant To Officer In Charge, Navy Recruiting Bureau
- RADM Rodger W. Simpson (1898-1964), Class of 1921 - World War II destroyer commander
- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (1900-1986), Class of 1922 - Submariner and Engineering Duty Officer; "Father of the Nuclear Navy" as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships (1949-1982); served 64 years of active service
- Admiral Arleigh A. Burke (1901-1996), Class of 1923 - World War II carrier commander; Chief of Naval Operations (1955-1961)
- Robert A. Heinlein (science fiction author) (1907-1988), Class of 1929. Winner of several Hugo and Nebula Award prizes for groundbreaking science fiction.
- Admiral John S. McCain, Jr. (1911-1981), Class of 1931 - Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command (1968-1972)
- Captain David McCampbell an American aviator, who became the US Navy’s all-time leading ace with 34 aerial victories during World War II.
- Vice Admiral Eli Thomas Reich (1913-1999), Class of 1935 - World War II submariner – whose crew sank a Japanese battleship.
- CDR William Lederer (1912-) Class of 1936 - science fiction writer and playwright who co-authored The Ugly American (1958).
- VADM David C. Richardson (1912-), Class of 1936 - Championed pre-WWMCCS Ocean Surveillance Information Systems.
- Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. (1920-2000), Class of 1942 - Chief of Naval Operations during Vietnam War (1970-1974)
- CAPT Homer A. McCrerey (1919-1999), Class of 1942 - Fleet Meteorologist and oceanographer (FNMOC) (1967-1972)
- VADM W. W. Behrens, Jr. (1922-1986), Class of 1943/1944 - Oceanographer of the Navy who helped establish NOAA.
- RADM Alan Shepard (1923-1998), Class of 1944, World War II veteran, Naval aviator, Astronaut, the first U.S. Astronaut in space and only Mercury Seven astronaut to walk on the Moon.
1945 to present
- William Appleman Williams, (1921–1990), Class of 1945, influential and controversial historian of American foreign policy
- Captain Wally Schirra, (1923-), Class of 1945 the only Astronaut to fly in America's first three space programs: Project Mercury, Project Gemini and Project Apollo.
- Admiral William J. Crowe, (1925- ), Class of 1947 - Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff 1985-1989, Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1994-1997.
- VADM James Stockdale, (1923- 2005), Class of 1947 - Vietnam-era Naval Aviator & POW; Medal of Honor recipient; Vice-presidential candidate (Reform Party, 1992)
- ADM Stansfield Turner, (1923- ), Class of 1947 - Rhodes Scholar, Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1977 to 1981 (Jimmy Carter's administration).
- President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr., (1924- ), Class of 1948 - Post-World War II submariner; Governor of Georgia; 39th President of the United States, 1977-1981
- Admiral James D. Watkins, (1927- ), Class of 1949 - Chief of Naval Operations 1982-1986; Chairman of United States Commission on Ocean Policy that crafted Oceans Act of 2000
- Colonel James Irwin (USAF), (1930-1991), Class of 1951 - Served as an SR-71 Blackbird pilot and became a NASA astronaut, serving as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, on which the first lunar rover was used.
- Captain James A. Lovell, Jr., (1928- ), Class of 1952 - Served in the Korean War, and became a NASA astronaut, participating in two Gemini missions, Apollo 8, and commanding the ill-fated Apollo 13, which he brought back safely.
- H. Ross Perot, (1930- ), Class of 1953 - President of his class, Battalion Commander. Commissioned as a surface warfare officer. After he left the Navy, he became a billionaire in the computer industry and made several formidable presidential runs.
- Bob McElwee, (1935 - ), Class of 1957 - NFL referee for 27 years (1976-2003)
- Senator John S. McCain III (R-Ariz.), (1936- ), Class of 1958 - Vietnam-era Naval Aviator & POW; U.S. Senator
- Vice Admiral Peruvian Navy Guillermo Zariquiey, (1936-2005), Class of 1958 - Chief of Staff and Commander of Naval Operations Peruvian Navy, Ecuador - Peru war veteran
- Vice Admiral Joseph D. Stewart, (1942-), Class of 1964 - Superindentent of the US Merchant Marine Academy
- Roger Staubach, (1942- ), Class of 1965 - National Football League Hall of Fame quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys. Awarded both Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award in 1963, his junior year at the Naval Academy.
- General Peter Pace, (1945-), Class of 1967 - became first U.S. Marine appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- Captain Michael J. Smith, (1945-1986), Class of 1967 - American astronaut, pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during STS-51-L
- Admiral Dennis Blair, (1946- ), Class of 1968 - Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Pacific Command (1999-2002) and Institute for Defense Analyses president.
- Major General Charles F. Bolden, Jr., USMC, (1946- ) , Class of 1968 - Astronaut, Marine Corps aviator, Vietnam veteran
- LtCol Oliver North, USMC (1943- ), Class of 1968 - Vietnam veteran, White House aide, author, host of FOX News' "War Stories," and a radio host
- James H. Webb, Jr., (1946- ), Class of 1968 - U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran; Assistant Secretary of Defense; Secretary of the Navy 1987-88; noted American novelist; Senator-elect of Virginia
- Captain Gerald F. DeConto, (1957-2001), Class of 1979 - Killed at the Pentagon during the September 11 Attacks. Commander of the USS Simpson (FFG-56) 1998-2000
- Phil McConkey, (1957- ), Class of 1979 - NFL Wide Receiver who assisted the New York Giants to a win in Super Bowl XXI
- Commander Joe F. Edwards, Jr., (1958- ) Class of 1980 - Naval aviator and astronaut.
- Montel Williams, (1956- ), Class of 1980 - Actor and talk show host.
- Captain Wendy B. Lawrence, (1959 - ), Class of 1981 - Naval aviator and astronaut.
- Charles Swift, Class of 1984 - Navy attorney, Primary counsel in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.
- William McCool, (1961-2003), Class of 1983 - pilot of space shuttle Columbia, killed when the craft disintegrated during re-entry
- Napoleon McCallum, (1963- ), Class of 1985 - Former National Football League running back for the Los Angeles Raiders, 1986-94. Fulfilled his Navy commitment while playing for the Raiders. Inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Captain Lisa Nowak, (1963- ), Class of 1985 - Astronaut, charged with 1st degree attempted murder.
- David Robinson, (1965- ), Class of 1987 - Former NBA great with San Antonio Spurs; Rookie of the Year in 1990, NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 1995, played on NBA championship teams in 1999 and 2003
- Matt Blunt, (1970- ), Class of 1993 - Governor of Missouri (2004-)
Faculty
The Civil War years
Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873) Pathfinder of the Seas joined the United States Navy as a midshipman aboard the frigate Brandywine in 1825. He became the US Naval Observatory's first superintendent in 1844. Three ships named USS Maury have been named for him.
James H. Ward (1806-1861) - When the the new Naval School opened at Annapolis, Maryland on 10 October 1845, Lt. Ward was a member of the faculty—one of the first line officers to pass along the benefits of his own experience to young midshipmen. USS Ward (DD-139) was named for him.