2015 Event The U.S. Navy announces that it will allow women to undergo its intensive 6-month SEAL training; female candidates who pass the course will be able to serve on SEAL teams 2014 Event Vice Admiral Michelle Janine Howard is promoted to 4-star admiral, becoming the first woman to achieve the highest rank in the U.S. Navy 2013 Event Amidst criticism for its lack of help in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, China's 'Peace Ark', a 14,000-ton navy hospital ship, is sent to the Philippines to help its relief efforts'; the country also sent an emergency medical team and a disaster relief team from the Chinese Red Cross 2013 Event The USS Gerald R. Ford is christened by the U.S. Navy; the aircraft carrier cost $15.5 billion and technically the most advanced ship ever built 2013 Event Sydney, Australia welcomes Harry, the Prince of Wales, who has come to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Australian Navy 2013 Event A rare 19th century torpedo is discovered off the coast of California by the US Navy dolphins 2012 Event Sarah West, a British naval officer Commander is appointed commander of HMS Portland, the Royal Navy frigate; she is the first female officer to take command of a major British warship 2012 Event In the U.S. city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, a U.S. Navy FA-18 Superhornet crashes into an apartment complex 2012 Event Treasure from Spain's Navy frigate Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes is returned to Spain after it was recovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2007 2011 Event At least 20 Navy SEALs and 17 others die when a NATO Chinook helicopter crashes after being shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan 2011 Event For the first time since 1979 Iranian Revolution, two ships from the Iran Navy are sent through the Suez Canal 2010 Event 35 suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia are captured by the French Navy, the European Union's most successful mission 2010 Event United States Navy troops land near the Haitian presidential palace, bringing food, water, and equipment to aid victims of the earthquake 2009 Event An Australian navy ship intercepts a boat carrying 60 suspected asylum seekers 2008 Event U.S. Navy destroys a U.S. spy satellite with a missile 2001 Death Carrie Donovan, editor/Old Navy icon, Vogue, dies at 73 1996 Death Jeremy Boorda, admiral, U.S. Navy, 25th Chief of Naval Operations, dies of suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in Washington, D.C. 1996 Death Arleigh Burke, admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations during President Eisenhower administration, served admirably in World War II and the Korean War, dies at 94 1994 Event U.S. Navy issues 1st permanent order assigning women on combat ship 1994 Death "Iron" Adriaan van Es, Dutch Undersecretary of Navy (1963-72), dies at 80 1991 Event 27 lost at sea when 2 U.S. Navy anti-submarine planes collide 1988 Event U.S. Navy shoots down Iranian civilian jetliner over Gulf, kills 290 1987 Event 1st military use of trained dolphins by the U.S. Navy 1986 Event U.S. Navy officer Jerry A Whitworth sentenced to 365 years for spying 1986 Event San Francisco Federal jury convicts Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth of espionage 1984 Death Billy Sands, actor (Phil Silvers Show, McHale's Navy), dies at 73 1984 Event U.S. Navy exhibits Piasecki helistat-4 helicopters and a blimp able to lift 26 tons-Lakehurst, New Jersey 1982 Event U.S. submarine Thomas Edison collides with U.S. Navy destroyer in So China Sea 1981 Event 2 U.S. Navy F-14 jet fighters shoot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22 1979 Event "In The Navy" by Village People hits #3 1978 Event CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy 1974 Death Joe Flynn, actor (McHale's Navy), dies at 49 1973 Death Claire Dodd, actress (Ex-Lady, In the Navy), dies after illness at 64 1971 Event Air West filght 706 collides with Navy Phantom jet over LA, 50 die 1971 Event Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. becomes 1st black Admiral in U.S. Navy 1970 Birthday Matt Blunt, born in Springfield, Missouri, politician, Republican, 54th Governor of Missouri, formerly an officer in the U.S. Navy 1963 Event 29th Heisman Trophy Award: Roger Staubach, Navy (quarterback) 1962 Event Dutch and Indonesian Navy encounter in Etna Bay New Guinea 1960 Event 26th Heisman Trophy Award: Joe Bellino, Navy (HB) 1958 Event Israeli Navy inaugrates it's 1st submarine 1958 Event U.S. Navy forms atomic sub division 1958 Event Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit (2nd U.S.), measures Earth shape 1956 Birthday Kent V. Rominger, born in Del Norte, Colorado, U.S. Navy /astronaut, STS-73, 80, 85 1954 Event Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (sub), commissioned by the Navy 1952 Death Henri G Winkelman, Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76 1950 Event North Koreans troop reach Seoul, United Nations asks members to aid South Korea, Truman orders Air Force and Navy into Korean conflict 1948 Event 6 female reservists become 1st women sworn into regular U.S. Navy 1947 Event U.S. Air Force, Navy and War Department form U.S. Department of Defense 1947 Event 1st (U.S. Navy) air squadron of jets, Quonset Point, Rhode Island 1947 Event John Lee appointed 1st black commissioned officer in U.S. Navy 1946 Event French Navy fire in Haiphong Vietnam, kills 6,000 1945 Event Cleveland ace Bob Feller returns from Navy and strike out 12 1945 Event Lieutenant Admiral Marc Mitscher named chief of U.S. Navy staff 1945 Event Largest operation in Pacific war, 1,500 U.S. Navy ships bomb Okinawa 1945 Event Phyllis M. Daley is 1st black nurse sworn-in as U.S. Navy ensign 1944 Event Navy says black women can join WAVES 1944 Event 1st female U.S. Navy captain, Sue Dauser of nurse corps, appointed 1944 Event Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football "Arab Bowl," Oran, North Africa 1942 Event French Navy at Toulon scuttles ships and subs so Nazis don't take them 1942 Event U.S. Navy defeats Japanese in WW II Battle of Cape Esperance 1942 Event Franklin D. Roosevelt signs bill creating women's Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES) 1942 Event Red Sox star Ted Williams enlists as a Navy aviator 1942 Event Dorie Miller, awarded Navy cross for deeds at Pearl Harbor 1942 Event U.S. Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve 1942 Event 1st twilight game in 24 years, the Dodgers top Giants 7-6 raising $60,000 for Navy Relief Fund 1942 Event WW II Navy flier Don Mason sends message "Sighted sub sank same" 1942 Event Bob Feller, enlists in Navy and reports for duty to Norfolk Virginia 1941 Event U.S. president Roosevelt signs Two Ocean Navy Expansion Act 1941 Event 1st Navy vessel constructed as mine layer Terror launched 1941 Event Navy takes over Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay 1940 Event British Royal Navy sinks French fleet in North Africa 1939 Birthday Henry Lawrence Garett III, born in Miami, Florida, Sect of Navy, 1989 - 1992 1939 Death Cornelis J Cutters, supreme commander of Navy (1910-18), dies 1938 Birthday Jeremy Boorda, born in South Bend, Indiana, admiral, U.S. Navy, 25th Chief of Naval Operations 1938 Event Congress approves Vinson Naval Act, which funds a two-ocean navy 1938 Birthday Jock Slater, born in the United Kingdom, admiral, Royal Navy, served 1958 - 1998, Equerry to Her Majesty The Queen, 1968 1971 1934 Event Adolph Hitler expands German army and Navy and creates an air force, violating Treaty of Versailles 1934 Birthday Kenneth Eaton, Controller, British Navy 1933 Birthday Tim Conway, born in Willoughby, Ohio, comic, McHale's Navy, Carol Burnett Show 1930 Event 1st streamlined submarine of U.S. navy, USS Nautilus, launched 1926 Event 110,000 watch Army and Navy play a 21-all tie 1925 Birthday Bob Hastings, born in Brooklyn, New York, actor, McHale's Navy, All in the Family 1925 Birthday Peter Lane, born in England, Baron Lane of Horsell, Lord Land of Horsell, politician, businessman, Conservative Party, served in Royal Navy, life peer, House of Lords 1924 Birthday Joe Flynn, Youngstown Ohio, actor, McHale's Navy 1924 Event Allies stop checking on German navy 1922 Event 1st commemoration of Navy Day 1922 Birthday Carl Ballantine, actor, McHale's Navy 1922 Birthday John Farr, born in Nottingham, England, Sir John Arnold Farr, politician, Conservative Party, Member of Parliament for Harborough 1959 - 1992, served with Royal Navy during World War II 1922 Event USS Langley is commissioned, Navy's 1st aircraft Carrier 1922 Birthday Pamela Mason, born in London, actress, Navy vs. Night Monsters 1921 Birthday Virginia O'Brien, born in Los Angeles, California, actress, Francis in the Navy 1920 Birthday Harri Webb, Swansea, Wales, journalist, nationalist, poet, volunteered for the Royal Navy, published The Green Desert, a collection of poetry in 1969, Poems and Points in 1983 1920 Birthday Antony Duff, born in England, served Royal Navy during World War II, Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia, diplomat, Director-General of Military Intelligence, section 5, 1985 - 1988, the United Kingdom's internal security service 1919 Event 1st transatlantic flight ends; U.S. Navy flying boat takes 11 days 1919 Event 1st transatlantic flight take-off by a Navy seaplane 1917 Event 1st female U.S. Navy Petty Officer is Loretta Walsh 1917 Event German Navy torpedoes 7 Dutch ships 1915 Birthday Ann Nagel, born in Boston, Massachusetts, actress, Don Winslow of the Navy 1915 Event Dutch merchant Navy ship Katwijk sunk by Germany torpedo 1915 Event 1st U.S. Navy minelayer, Baltimore, commissioned 1914 Event Minister of Navy W Churchill routes British fleet to Scapa Flow 1912 Event World's 1st cannery opens in England to supply food to the navy 1910 Birthday Stephen Jurika, Jr., U.S. pilot/captain, WW II, Santa Cruz, Navy Cross 1910 Event Canadian parliament accept creation of Royal Canadian Navy 1909 Event Construction of Navy base at Pearl Harbor begins 1908 Birthday Claire Dodd, AR, actress, Ex-Lady, In the Navy 1908 Event Dutch capture Venezuelan navy 1907 Event Eugene H Farrar is 1st to sing on radio (Brooklyn Navy Yard New York) 1906 Birthday Walter Sande, born in Denver, Colorado, actor, Navy vs Night Monsters 1905 Birthday Fitzhugh Lee, U.S. pilot/Vice-Admiral, WW II, Navy Cross 1901 Birthday Arleigh Burke, born in Boulder, Colorado, admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations during President Eisenhower administration, served admirably in World War II and the Korean War 1900 Event German Navy Law calls for massive increase in sea power 1900 Event U.S. Navy's 1st submarine made its debut 1900 Birthday Hyman G Rickover, U.S. Admiral, father of modern nuclear navy 1899 Event George Dewey becomes 1st in U.S. with rank of Admiral of the Navy 1898 Event U.S. Navy defeats Spanish fleet in Santiago harbor, Cuba 1898 Event Army transfers Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay to Navy 1892 Birthday James Forrestal, U.S., banker/minister of Navy 1890 Event 1st Army-Navy football game, Score: Navy 24, Army 0 at West Point 1883 Event Congress authorizes the 1st steel vessels in U.S. navy 1876 Birthday Henri G Winkelman, Dutch general/supreme commander/navy 1940 1869 Event Margarine is patents by Hippolye Mega-Mouries for use by French Navy 1866 Event David Faragut appointed as 1st Admiral of U.S. Navy 1862 Event 1st U.S. Navy hospital ship enters service 1862 Event David G Farragut is 1st rear Admiral in U.S. Navy 1862 Event U.S. Navy's 1st ironclad warship, the Monitor, launched 1861 Event Secretary of U.S. Navy authorizes enlistment of slaves 1861 Event At Gretna LA, one of 1st guns of Rebel Navy is cast 1861 Event Department of Navy of Confederacy forms 1857 Event William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to U.S. Navy 1853 Event Admiral Perry and U.S. Navy visit Japan 1852 Birthday Cornelis J Snijders, supreme commander of Dutch Navy, 1910-18 1850 Event U.S. Navy abolishes flogging as punishment 1844 Death Thommas W. Gilmer, Navy Secretary, dies in explosion on USS Princeton 1842 Birthday William Barker Cushing, Lieutenant Commander Union Navy 1841 Death Cornelis T Elout, Dutch minister of Finance/Navy/Colonies, dies at 74 1840 Birthday Sanuel Dana Greene, Lieutenant Commander Union Navy 1826 Birthday Mercer Brooke John, Confederate Navy 1823 Birthday James Dunwody Bulloch, Captain, Confederate Navy 1821 Birthday Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary, Union 1819 Birthday Daniel Ammen, Captain Union Navy 1814 Event Battle of Lake Champlain, New York; American Navy defeats British 1813 Birthday David Dixon Porter, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1813 Event Captain John Lawrence utters Navy motto "Don't give up the ship" 1812 Birthday Percival Drayton, Captain Union Navy 1812 Birthday John Rodgers II, Commander Union Navy 1812 Birthday Benjamin Franklin Sands, Commander Union Navy 1812 Birthday John Randolph Tucker, Captain, Confederate Navy 1811 Birthday John Ancrum Winslow, Commander Union Navy 1811 Birthday Joseph Lanman, Commander Union Navy 1810 Birthday James Shedden Palmer, Commander Union Navy 1809 Birthday Raphael Semmes, Rear Admiral, Confederate Navy 1809 Birthday William Radford, Commander Union Navy 1809 Birthday Sylvanus William Godon, Commander Union Navy 1809 Birthday William David Porter, Commander Union Navy 1808 Birthday Stephen Cleeg Rowan, Commander Union Navy 1808 Birthday Thomas Turner, Commander Union Navy 1808 Birthday Thomas Tinsley Craven, Commander Union Navy 1808 Birthday Henry Haywood Bell, Commander Union Navy 1808 Birthday Charles Henry Poor, Commander Union Navy 1807 Birthday James Findlay Schenck, Commander Union Navy 1807 Birthday Charles Henry Davis, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1806 Birthday Andrew Hull Foote, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1806 Birthday Henry Knox Thatcher, Commander Union Navy 1805 Birthday Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1804 Birthday John William, Turk, Livingston, Commander Union Navy 1804 Birthday Thomas Oliver Selfridge, Commander Union Navy 1804 Event Lt. Stephen Decatur raids Tripoli Harbor and burns Navy frigate "Philadelphia" after pirates seized it 1803 Birthday Samuel Francis DuPont, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1803 Birthday Levin Minnesota Powell, Commander Union Navy 1802 Birthday James Lawrence Lardner, Commander Union Navy 1802 Birthday Cadwalader Ringgold, Commander Union Navy 1802 Birthday Gideon Welles, Secretary Navy, Union 1801 Birthday John Drake Sloat, Ret Major General Commander Union Navy 1801 Birthday David Glasgow Farragut, Tennessee, Vice Admiral Union Navy 1801 Birthday Henry Eagle, Commander Union Navy 1800 Birthday William Wister McKean, Commander Union Navy 1800 Birthday Franklin Buchanan, Admiral, Confederate Navy 1800 Birthday Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin, Commander Union Navy 1798 Birthday Gershom Jaques Van Brunt, Commander Union Navy 1798 Birthday Charles H Bell, Commander Union Navy 1798 Event Department of Navy forms 1798 Birthday Charles D. Wilkes, Commander Union Navy 1798 Event Dr. George Balfour becomes 1st naval surgeon in the U.S. navy 1797 Birthday Hiram Paulding, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1797 Birthday Silas Horton Stringham, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1797 Event U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston 1797 Event 1st Navy ship, the "United States," is launched 1796 Birthday Ret Cornelius Kinchiloe Stribling, Commander Union Navy 1796 Event English beat Bataafs Navy in Saldanha Bay 1795 Birthday John Marston, Jr., Commander Union Navy 1795 Birthday Joshua Ratoon Sands, Commander Union Navy 1794 Birthday John Barrien Montgomery, Commander Union Navy 1794 Event U.S. Navy forms 1790 Birthday Joseph Smith, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1789 Birthday Francis Hoyt Gregory, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1778 Birthday Charles Stewart, Rear Admiral Union Navy 1775 Event Continental Navy organized with 7 ships 1775 Event 2nd Continental Congress formally establishes U.S. Navy 1775 Event U.S. Navy forms 1775 Event U.S. Navy forms 1764 Birthday Carel H Verhuell, Dutch/French Vice-Admiral/minister of Navy 1718 Birthday Esek Hopkins, U.S., 1st commander-in-chief, U.S. Navy 1703 Event Bristol England damaged by hurricane, Royal Navy loses 15 warships 1683 Death Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French Minister of Navy, dies at 64 1633 Birthday Samuel Pepys, born in London, England, Navy expert/composer, Diary, Memoirs 1595 Death John Hawkins, English navigator/treasurer of the Navy, dies at 63 1573 Event Battle of South Seas - Dutch rebels beat Spanish navy 1345 Birthday Ferdinand I, the wise one, king of Portugal, built navy
