Existing comment:
Alfred T. Mahan
1840-1914
Born at West Point, New York, the son of a well-known professor at the Military Academy, Mahan entered the Naval Academy with the Class of 1859. He served in several ships during the Civil War and after a routine career was promoted to captain in 1885. He was not noted for his skills as a seaman, but his writings on the Civil War operations of the navy claimed the attention of Stephen B. Luce who selected Mahan as a lecturer at the new Naval War College. It was there that he organized, and published, his lecturers as "The Influence of Sea-Power Upon History, 1660-1783." His work, received with great acclaim, especially in Britain, Germany , and Japan, outlined a processed that could lead to national preeminence through naval power. |