Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained the rank.
1837 CE
to 1917 CE
George Dewey (December 26, 1837 – January 16, 1917) is Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained the rank.
He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with the loss of only a single crewman on the American side.
Dewey was born in Montpelier, Vermont.
At age fifteen, Dewey's father enrolled him at Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont.
Two years later Norwich expelled him for drunkenness and herding sheep into the barracks.
Summarily, he enters the United States Naval Academy in 1854.
He graduates from the academy in 1858 and iss assigned as the executive lieutenant of the USS Mississippi at the beginning of the Civil War.
He participates in the capture of New Orleans and the Siege of Port Hudson, helping the Union take control of the Mississippi River.
By the end of the war, Dewey reaches the rank of lieutenant commander.
After the Civil War, Dewey undertakes a variety of assignments, serving on multiple ships and as an instructor at the Naval Academy.
He also serves on the United States Lighthouse Board and the Board of Inspection and Survey.
He is promoted to Commodore in 1896 and assigned to the Asiatic Squadron the following year.
After that appointment, he begins preparations for a potential war with Spain, which breaks out in April 1898
Immediately after the beginning of the war, Dewey leads an attack on Manila Bay, sinking the entire Spanish Pacific fleet while suffering only minor casualties.
After the battle, his fleet assists in the capture of Manila.
Dewey's victory at Manila Bay is widely lauded in the United States, and he is promoted to Admiral of the Navy in 1903.
Dewey explores a run for the 1900 Democratic presidential nomination, but he withdraws from the race and endorses President William McKinley.
He serves on the General Board of the United States Navy, an important policy-making body, from 1900 until his death in 1917.
