Past Naval War College Presidents

One of the founders of the U.S. Naval War College, Lieutenant Commander Caspar Goodrich (1847–1925) served with Rear Admiral Luce and Captain William T. Sampson on the board of officers convened to consider Luce’s recommendation to establish the college in May 1884. Goodrich was Luce’s first choice to be the new college’s lecturer in naval history and tactics, but he was unavailable for the assignment. In 1886–1889, as officer in charge of the Torpedo Station in Newport, he saved the college from amalgamation with that facility. As the third president of the college, Goodrich oversaw the construction of Luce Hall.

Henry Clay Taylor (1845–1904) was the sixth president of the U.S. Naval War College. In 1880 – 1884, Taylor had commanded one of Admiral Luce’s training ships. Taylor clearly understood Luce’s thinking and became a lecturer to the college’s first class. During his tenure as president, Taylor revised the curriculum and established an academic program that lasted until 1919. Among his innovations were the use of case studies for instruction in international law and making war gaming part of the curriculum.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840 – 1917) served as the U.S. Naval War College’s second president in 1886 – 1889 and as its fourth president in 1892 – 1893. In 1885, Admiral Luce chose Mahan to be the college’s first instructor in naval history and tactics. In 1892, he returned with a new set of lectures to deliver: The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire 1793 – 1805 (1892). These books were the first that drew international attention to the college. Later, he returned to lecture between 1895 and 1912.

One of the founders of the U.S. Naval War College, Lieutenant Commander Caspar Goodrich (1847–1925) served with Rear Admiral Luce and Captain William T. Sampson on the board of officers convened to consider Luce’s recommendation to establish the college in May 1884. Goodrich was Luce’s first choice to be the new college’s lecturer in naval history and tactics, but he was unavailable for the assignment. In 1886–1889, as officer in charge of the Torpedo Station in Newport, he saved the college from amalgamation with that facility.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840 – 1917) served as the U.S. Naval War College’s second president in 1886 – 1889 and as its fourth president in 1892 – 1893. In 1885, Admiral Luce chose Mahan to be the college’s first instructor in naval history and tactics. The lectures he delivered at the college in 1886 and 1887 were eventually published as The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660 – 1783 (1890).

The U.S. Naval War College’s founder and first president, Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce (1827–1917), is recognized by historians as the “Intellectual Leader of the ‘New Steel Navy’” that developed at the end of the nineteenth century. In that period, the U.S. Navy went through a major transformation, not only from small-to major-power status, but also from wood to steel, and sail to steam. In the midst of this transformation, it was Stephen B. Luce who was the most important figure in teaching American naval officers to think broadly about their profession and to understand the fundamental nature of naval power, noting both its capabilities and its limitations.