United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is located in Annapolis, Maryland. The Academy is often referred to simply as "Annapolis" although naval officers normally refer to it in conversation as "the Academy", "the Yard" or "the Boat School". U.S. sports media refer to the Academy as Navy, and this usage is officially endorsed. ROTC and Officer Candidate School graduates as well as cadets from the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point (USNA's traditional rivals) often refer to the Naval Academy as "Canoe U."

Notable Graduates

During the latter half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, the Naval Academy was the primary source of U.S. Naval officers. Naval Academy alumni thus represent many of the U.S. Navy's most famous names. In addition, more U.S. Astronauts have graduated from the Naval Academy than from any other undergraduate institution in the United States.

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Pre-Civil War

• Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), Class of 1859 - theorist of sea power
• Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1911), Class of 1860 - commander in Spanish-American War
• Rear Admiral William T. Sampson (1840-1902), Class of 1861 - commander in Spanish-American War

Civil War to 1900

• 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

1900 to World War II

• Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (1876-1956), Class of 1901 - Chief of Naval Operations in 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
• 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)
• Vice Admiral Eli Thomas Reich (1913-1999), Class of 1935 - World War II submariner – the only one to sink a Japanese battleship during the war. A 3 time Navy Cross recipient, 2 time Navy Distinguished Service Medal recipient, and also Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal recipient.
• Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. (1920-2000), Class of 1942 - Chief of Naval Operations during Vietnam War (1970-1974)

1945 to Present

• Vice Admiral James Stockdale, (1923- 2005 ), Class of 1946 - Vietnam-era Naval Aviator & POW; Medal of Honor recipient; Vice-presidential candidate (Reform Party, 1992)
• President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr., (1924- ), Class of 1946 - Post-WW II submariner; Governor of Georgia; 39th President of the United States, 1977-1981
• Admiral William J. Crowe, (1925- ), Class of 1947 - Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff 1985-1989, Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1994-1997.
• Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), (1936- ), Class of 1958 - Vietnam-era Naval Aviator & POW; U.S. Senator
• LtCol Oliver North (1943- ), Class of 1968 - U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran, White House aide (famous for his role in the Iran-Contra affair), author, host of FOX News' "War Stories," and talk 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

Graduates famous outside of the Navy

Albert Abraham Michelson (physicist) (1852-1931), Class of 1873 - First American to receive a Nobel Prize in Physics

Related Topics:
Albert Abraham Michelson - 1873

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• Roger Staubach (1942- ), Class of 1964 - NFL Hall of Fame quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, 6-time Pro Bowler, 2 time Super Bowl winner (1972, 1978). Awarded both Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award in 1963, his junior year at the Naval Academy.
• David Robinson (1965- ), Class of 1987 - Former NBA great with San Antonio Spurs; Rookie of the Year in 1990, MVP in 1995, played on NBA championship teams in 1999 and 2003
• Robert A. Heinlein (science fiction author) (1905-1988), Class of 1929. Winner of several Hugo and Nebula Award prizes for groundbreaking science fiction.
• Matt Blunt (1970-), Class of 1993 - Governor of Missouri (2004-)