Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry (September 3, 1847February 1, 1911) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Sperry graduated from the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

in 1866. In November 1898, he became commanding officer of and later served as senior officer of the Southern Squadron on the

Asiatic Station The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...

and as

President of the Naval War College The president of the Naval War College is a flag officer in the United States Navy. The President's House in Newport, Rhode Island is their official residence. The functions of the president of the Naval War College actually predate the estab ...

. As a rear admiral, he served in the United States delegation to the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

and the Second Hague Conference, and as Commander in Chief,

Battle Fleet The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. Thi ...

, he led the

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships that completed a journey around the globe from 16 December 1907, to 22 February 1909, by order of President Foreign policy of the Theodore Roosevelt ...

during the major portion of its historic cruise around the world in 1908 and 1909. Sperry retired September 3, 1909, but subsequently was recalled to active duty for special service. He died February 1, 1911, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The destroyer was named for him.

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* * 1847 births 1911 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Naval War College alumni Presidents of the Naval War College United States Navy admirals {{US-navy-bio-stub

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