John Mercer Brooke
John Mercer Brooke (born December 18, 1826 in Tampa , Florida , † December 14, 1906 in Lexington , Virginia ) was an instructor in the American Navy , a protagonist in the American Civil War and inventor of projectiles .
Brooke was the son of General George Mercer Brooke, who served in the Mexican-American War. He joined the US Navy in 1841 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1847 . As an employee of Matthew Fontaine Maury at the United States Naval Observatory , he developed an apparatus for measuring the depth of the ocean floor in 1852. He later took part in research trips in the Pacific. At the end of the 1850s he worked as a consultant and instructor for the Japanese Navy and in 1860 accompanied the Japanese embassy to the USA on board the Kanrin Maru .
After the secession of Virginia and the outbreak of the civil war in 1861, he joined the Confederate Navy (CSN). Here he was involved in converting the captured frigate Merrimack into the ironclad Virginia and developed guns and ammunition for the Navy. In 1863 he became head of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography of the CSN. After the war he became a professor at the Virginia Military Institute .
The frigate Brooke , lead ship of the Brooke- class , was named after him.
Web links
- Biography John Mercer Brooke (US Navy, English)
- The role Brookes in the development of artillery during the Civil War (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brooke, John Mercer |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American military advisor and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 18, 1826 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tampa , Florida , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 14, 1906 |
| Place of death | Lexington , Virginia , USA |