United States Naval Academy

By James A. Barham, PhD

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) was founded in 1845, making it the second-oldest of the five US military service academies. The Naval Academy’s student body numbers around 4,500 “midshipmen” (as undergraduates are called).

Academically, USNA is best known for its programs in the physical sciences, in computer and information sciences, and in engineering—including aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering; electrical, electronics, and communications engineering; and naval architecture and marine engineering.

USNA is associated with one Nobel Prize laureate, Albert A. Michelson for physics.

Other distinguished USNA connected individuals include the following:

• Nineteenth-century naval officer and historian, Alfred Thayer Mahan
• Inventor and television pioneer, Philo T. Farnsworth
• Science fiction novelist, Robert A. Heinlein
• Actors, Warren Stephens and Anthony Alabi
• Singer-songwriter, John Phillips
• Television personality, Montel Williams
• Rear Admiral and leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole by air, Robert E. Byrd
• Rear Admiral and Project Mercury astronaut, Alan Shepard, who was the first American to travel to outer space
• Naval aviator and Project Apollo astronaut, Jim Lovell, who flew on the first manned mission to orbit the moon
• First female US Marine combat fighter pilot, Amy McGrath
• First black female naval aviator and tactical jet fighter pilot, Madeline Swegle
• US Marine lieutenant colonel, Oliver North, who was a controversial member of the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan
• Former US Navy SEAL and founder of Blackwater USA, Erik Prince
• Senior World War II admirals— Ernest J. King, Chester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey, Jr., Raymond A. Spruance, Arleigh A. Burke, and Marc Andrew “Pete” Mitscher
• Post-war admiral known as the “father of the nuclear navy”, Hyman G. Rickover
• Founder and CEO of Electronic Data Systems and 1992 third-party presidential candidate, Ross Perot
• Current US Representatives—Elaine Luria, Mikie Sherrill, and Mike Garcia
• Former US Senator, John McCain
• Current US Senator, Todd Young
• 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter

USNA is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).