Alfred Thayer Mahan (September 27, 1840 - December 1, 1914)

A. T. Mahan was a United States Navy officer and educator; he was considered the world's foremost theorist of sea power. He graduated second in his class in 1859 from the U. S. Naval Academy. Commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1861, Mahan served the Union in the American Civil War as an officer on Congress, Pocahontas, and James Adger. He was later an instructor at the Naval Academy. He was appointed commander of the new United States Naval War College in 1886. Here Mahan organized his lectures into his most influential books, "The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783", and "The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812".

Several ships were named USS Mahan, including the lead vessel of a class of destroyers. He became Rear Admiral in 1906 by an act of Congress promoting all retired captains who had served in the Civil War.

Works

• The Influence of Sea Power Upon History
• The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and Future
• The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence
• The Life Of Nelson, Volume I.
• The Life Of Nelson, Volume II.
• Types of Naval Officers
• The Navy In The Civil War: The Gulf And Inland Waters