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Adolph Marix (1848-1919)
USNA Class of 1868
USN 1868-1909
Adolph Marix, the Naval Academy's first Jewish graduate, was the Navy's first Jewish officer to attain the rank of admiral.
Marix was a child when he came to America from Saxony (Germany). His father served President Lincoln as translator of European papers. Knowing the family, Lincoln appointed Adolph to the Naval Academy, Class of 1868.
Marix's career included sea duty and tours to the Office of the Judge-Advocate-General and with the Hydrographic Office. The work with the Judge-Advocate would serve well in 1898.
In 1895, he was assigned to the USS Maine as executive officer, and then transferred to the USS Scorpion in Dec. 1897. On February 15, 1898, just weeks later, the Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, sinking quickly, killing three quarters of the crew. Marix was Judge-Advocate-General and the recorder for the board investigating the explosion. |