The United States Secretary of the Navy's Research Chair in Naval History was established in 1987 by the then Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy (now known as the Naval History & Heritage Command). This competitive appointment was designed to support, for up to three years, a scholar in researching and writing a major monograph on the history of the U.S. Navy since 1945.
Past holders of this chair include:
USS Augusta (SSN-710), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Augusta, Maine. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 October 1973 and her keel was laid down on 1 April 1983. She was launched on 21 January 1984 sponsored by Mrs. Diana D. Cohen, wife of U.S. Senator William Cohen and commissioned on 19 January 1985.
The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. The NHHC is composed of 42 facilities in 13 geographic locations including the Navy Department Library, 10 museums and 1 heritage center, USS Constitution repair facility and detachment, and historic ship ex-USS Nautilus.
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It grants master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and certificates. Established in 1909, the school also offers research fellowship opportunities at the postdoctoral level through the National Academies' National Research Council research associateship program.
The 600-ship Navy was a strategic plan of the United States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of the Vietnam War. The plan, which originated with Republican leaders, was an important campaign plank of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election, who advocated a larger military and strategic confrontation with the Soviet Union.
USS Philadelphia (SSN-690), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Philadelphia.
James David Watkins was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, also chairing U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins also served on the boards of various companies and other nongovernmental organizations and as the co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
USS McClusky (FFG-41) was a Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate of the United States Navy. She was named for Rear Admiral C. Wade McClusky (1902–1976) who as a lieutenant commander led the air group of USS Enterprise, which sank the Japanese carriers Kaga and Akagi during the Battle of Midway. McClusky later served as part of Destroyer Squadron 1, and after 31 years of service, was decommissioned on 14 January 2015 at Naval Base San Diego.
USS Kauffman (FFG-59), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman (1887–1963) and his son, Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman (1911–1979), both experts in sub-surface naval missions.
USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) is a United States Navy submarine tender and the lead ship of her class. She was named for Admiral Emory S. Land.
Nicholas Andrew Martin Rodger FSA FRHistS FBA is a historian of the Royal Navy and senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
USS Ouellet (FF-1077) was a Knox-class frigate of the United States Navy. Ouellet was the first and only ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name of Seaman David George Ouellet, a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. The vessel was one of a class of frigates specifically designated to locate and destroy enemy submarines. The ship entered service in 1970 and was decommissioned in 1993. Ouellet was sold to Thailand in 1996 and renamed HTMS Phutthaloetla Naphalai.
William Norwood Still Jr. is an American maritime historian who was the first director of the program in maritime history at East Carolina University and a noted author of works on U.S. Civil War history and U.S. naval history.
The Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History was formally established in 1956 and is the second oldest of the historical advisory committee's within the United States Department of Defense.
Rear Admiral Roberta L. Hazard was the third female line officer to be promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy, and at the time, the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. military. She was the first woman to command a United States Naval Training Command.
Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-9) was a Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1965. The ship was transferred to the University of Washington for operation as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet on 21 September 1965. In 1988 the ship went out of UNOLS service. The ship, retaining the previous name, was designated by the Navy as IX-517 assigned to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for general naval research. Thomas G. Thompson was later renamed Pacific Escort II with the same designation. On 7 May 1997 the Navy renamed the ship Gosport and transferred the ship to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard available for hire as a multi purpose platform from the shipyard. The ship, placed out of service and struck from the register on 27 February 2004, was sunk as part of a NATO exercise 14 November 2004.
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) was a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) initially reported to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later to the Under Secretary of the Navy.
Delores Maria Etter was United States Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology from 1998 to 2001 and Assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, science, and technology from 2005 to 2007.
Karen Kohanowich is a retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). She was NOAA's Acting Director of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) from 2006–2009, and served in various roles at OER, including Acting Deputy and Undersea Technology director, until retiring in 2018. In July 2006, she became an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 10 crew.
John Ashby Baldwin Jr. is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy active during much of the Cold War. He commanded destroyers and a carrier battle group, saw service in the Vietnam War, served on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of Defense, and was President of the Naval War College and of the National Defense University.
Rear Admiral Joseph John "Jack" Dantone Jr. of U.S. Navy, was last director of Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) from May 1996 to September 1996. He was also the Acting Director of National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) from October 1996 to March 1998. He played a major role in transition of DMA into NIMA.