Person
Alfred Thayer Mahan
United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian
Alfred Thayer Mahan (September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian.
His concept of "sea power" is based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide impact; it is most famously presented in The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 (1890).
The concept has an enormous influence in shaping the strategic thought of navies across the world, especially in the United States, Germany, Japan and Britain, ultimately causing a European naval arms race in the 1890s, which includes the United States.
His ideas still permeate the U.S. Navy Doctrine.
Several ships have been named USS Mahan, including the lead vessel of a class of destroyers.