Historic
Individuals

Statesmen

Teddy Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy -  Before he
became President, before he was New York Governonr, and before he charged
up San Juan Hill, Theodore Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy.  
With an interest in ships that went back to his boyhood, Roosevelt set about
preparing the Navy for America's entrance onto the stage as a world power.  He
did this with the dynamism and energy with which he approached all projects,
often taking advantage of his superiors' laziness and indifference.  As a result,
the Navy was prepared when the Spanish-American War broke out.  

Sailors

Nelson and Trafalgar - The Battle of Trafalgar affected the course of
world events for over a century.  The British defeat of the combined French
and Spanish fleets in 1805, placed the Royal Navy in a position that was not
seriously challenged until World War I.  This stunning victory was largely due
to the genius of Lord Horatio Nelson, one of history's most extraordinary
individuals.

Stephen Decatur - One of America's first naval heroes, Decatur first
distinguished himself in a daring raid during the Barbary Coast War.  In the
War of 1812, he commanded the UNITED STATES in her victory over HMS
MACEDONIAN.  Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he was fatally
wounded in a duel with another naval officer.   

John Paul Jones - Often referred to as the father of the U.S. Navy, John
Paul Jones was a skilled mariner and an inspired strategist. His policy of
taking the battle to the enemy's shores had far reaching consequences that
greatly aided America in her fight for independence.  However, his life was
anything but easy as he had to deal with mutinous crews, insubordinate
captains, and myopic politicians.

Judges

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. -  America's greatest legal thinker,
Holmes' opinions on the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme
Judicial Court of Massachusetts as well as his writings and speeches
changed the course of the law.  In addition, Holmes lived his life with
gusto while at the same time maintaining a high moral and intellectual
code.