Charles Herbert Stockton (October 13, 1845 – May 31, 1924) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the United States Navy and the U.S. Navy's first uniformed expert in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. Stockton served as the President of the Naval War College, and later served as

President of the George Washington University The president of the George Washington University is the chief executive officer of the George Washington University, appointed by the GW Board of Trustees and charged "to establish the university's vision, oversee its teaching and research missio ...

from 1910 to 1918

Early life and education

The son of

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

William Rodgers Stockton and his wife, Emma Trout Gross Stockton, Charles Stockton was educated at

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the ...

and Freeland Academy before entering the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

, then temporarily located at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. He graduated from the academy in 1865.

Naval career

Stockton served on the North Pacific Station, 1865–69, then in the sloop , flagship of the

European Squadron The European Squadron, also known as the European Station, was a part of the United States Navy in the late 19th century and the early 1900s. The squadron was originally named the Mediterranean Squadron (United States), Mediterranean Squadron and ...

, 1870–73. After instruction at the

Naval Torpedo Station The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...

at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1873, he had a variety of ship and shore duties relating to that area, served at the Hydrographic Office, 1875–76, and lectured at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

, 1887–88. In 1890–91, he commanded the steam whaler , the first vessel to follow the entire coastline of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and published an article (1890) on this cruise in the new

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

as well as technical papers on

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

ice conditions, before cruising off

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and

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during the 1890 war. In 1891, he became

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 ...

and supervised construction of its first purpose-built building, Luce Hall. In 1892–93, he handed the completed building over to its returning president,

Alfred Thayer Mahan Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States Navy officer and historian whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His 1890 book '' The Influence of Sea Pow ...

, and became the college's lecturer in

, completing Harvard Professor Freeman Snow's unfinished book on the subject in 1895. After commanding the gunboat 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 ...

, 1895–97, he returned to become president,

, 1898–1900. Recognized as the U.S. Navy's first uniformed expert on international law, he remained at the college until 1901 to write the first code of Law of Naval Warfare. He commanded the battleship , 1901–03, and served as U.S.

naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

in London, 1903–05.

Civilian career

Stockton retired as a serving naval officer in 1907, and, in 1908–09, was appointed as First U.S. Delegate to the London Naval Conference that resulted in the London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War. Upon his return from London, he became president,

The George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first ...

, 1910–1918. On stepping down from that post, Stockton continued as lecturer in International Law at The

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

until 1921. He is commemorated in

Stockton Hall Stockton Hall is a building on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1987 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. History The bu ...

and in the academic chair occupied by the Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law at the U.S.

Personal life

Stockton married Cornelia Carter on 23 June 1875. Less than a year later, on 1 July 1876, Cornelia died, the day after giving birth to their daughter, Cornelia Carter Stockton. Stockton married Pauline Lethilhon on 23 November 1880, and had two further children; Herbert King Stockton (b. 1882) and Helen King Stockton (b. 1886).

Dates of rank

*Midshipman - 14 November 1861. *Graduated Naval Academy - September, 1865. *Ensign - 1 December 1866. *Master - 12 March 1868. *Lieutenant - 26 March 1869. *Lieutenant Commander - 15 November 1881. *Commander - 3 April 1892. *Captain - 8 July 1899. *Rear Admiral - 7 January 1906 *Retired List - 13 October 1907

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Hattendorf, John B., "Rear Admiral Charles Stockton, The Naval War College and the Law of Naval Warfare" in Green, Leslie C., and Schmitt, Michael N., eds. ''The Law of Armed Conflict: Into the Next Millennium.'' International Law Blue Book series, vol. 71. (Newport: Naval War College Press, 1998), pp. xvii-lxxii. * Stockton, Charles H., ''The Laws and Usages of War at Sea: A Naval War Code.'' (Washington; Government Printing Office, 1900). * Stockton, Charles H., ''A Manual of International Law for the Use of Naval Officers''. (Annapolis: Naval Institute 1917). * Stockton, Charles H. "Address of Mr. Charles Stockton" Review of the London Naval Conference, 1908-09 ''American Society of International Law, Proceedings''. (Washington, 1909), pp. 61–84.

External links

George Washington University Historical Encyclopedia : Charles Herbert Stockton

George Washington University Presidential Profiles
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton, Charles H. 1845 births 1924 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals International law scholars Naval War College faculty Presidents of the Naval War College Presidents of George Washington University George Washington University deans Germantown Academy alumni Military personnel from Philadelphia