George Calvin Day (November 8, 1871 – November 3, 1940) 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 ...

of 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 ...

, whose career lasted from the 1890s until the mid-1930s.

Biography

Born in Bradford, Vermont, the son of Hezron George Day, on 8 November 1871, he was appointed to 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 ...

on 19 May 1888 by Congressman William W. Grout. Day graduated from the Naval Academy on 3 June 1892, was promoted to

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

on 1 July 1894,

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

on 3 March 1899, and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1901. He served aboard the gunboat during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and then served aboard the protected cruiser during the Philippine Insurrection and the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. Returning to the United States in 1901, Day was assigned to the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

and subsequently was Executive Officer of the transport during 1907. From 1907 to 1909, at the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he served as Navigator of the flagship and ''ex officio'' Fleet Navigator during the 'round the world cruise of the Great White Fleet. He commanded the destroyer from 1909 to 1910, and Division 7 of the Torpedo Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, from 1910 to 1911. He was in charge of the Navy Publicity Bureau in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1911 to 1913, was the Executive Officer of the battleship from 1914 to 1915 during the occupation of Veracruz, and commanded the

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

from 1915 to 1916. By 1917 he was the Head of the Department of Compasses, Nautical Instruments, and Time Service at the Naval Observatory. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, he commanded the troop transport , formerly the German liner SS ''Amerika'', and was awarded the Navy Cross for this service. He commanded the armored cruiser from 1918 to 1919 and the battleship from 1920 to 1921, and was Commander, Submarines, Pacific, 1923 to 1925. In 1923 he was a member of the Navy's Court of Inquiry on the Honda Point disaster. Promoted to

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 1925, he served first as Commandant of the 15th Naval District, and then as Commander of Light Cruiser Division 2 (, , and ) from June 1927 to April 1928 and Light Cruiser Division 3 (, and ) from April 1928 to July 1929. He was President of the Board of Inspection and Survey in 1929, was a member of the General Board in 1930 and again was President of the Board of Inspection and Survey from 1931 until his retirement in 1935. After retirement, Day lived 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 ...

In 1940, he died at the Naval Hospital there and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

.Burial Detail: Day, George Calvin
– ANC Explorer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, George C. 1871 births 1940 deaths People from Bradford, Vermont United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Vermont United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion People of the Mexican Revolution United States Navy personnel of World War I Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy rear admirals Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery