John Lawrence Sullivan (June 16, 1899 – August 8, 1982) was an American lawyer who served in several positions in the

US federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

, including as

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

, the first during the administration of

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

Early life

Sullivan was born in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

on June 16, 1899. He was an alumnus of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1924.

Career

Sullivan served as

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury is one of several positions in the United States Department of the Treasury, serving under the United States Secretary of the Treasury. History According to the U.S. statute, there are eight Assis ...

in 1940–44,

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) 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 ...

in 1945–46, notable as the first civilian sworn into Naval office aboard a ship in an active combat zone, and as

Under Secretary of the Navy The under secretary of the navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The under secretary reports to the secretary of the navy (SECNAV). Before the creation of the under secretary's office, t ...

in 1946–47. Sullivan was appointed

upon

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...

's installation as

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

. Sullivan's major contributions to the Navy's future directions include the advent of naval nuclear propulsion. In 1947, then-Captain

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reacto ...

went around his chain-of-command and directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral

Chester W. Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, ...

, by chance also a former submariner, to pitch his ideas for creating a nuclear-powered warship. Nimitz immediately understood the potential of nuclear propulsion and recommended the project to Sullivan, whose endorsement to build the world's first nuclear-powered vessel, , later caused Rickover to state that Sullivan was "the true father of the Nuclear Navy." In May 1949, Sullivan resigned in protest after the second Secretary of Defense, Louis A. Johnson, canceled the heavy

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

. This event was part of an interservice conflict known as the

Revolt of the Admirals The "Revolt of the Admirals" was a policy and funding dispute within the United States government during the Cold War in 1949, involving a number of retired and active duty United States Navy admirals. These included serving officers Admiral Lo ...

Personal life

Sullivan and his wife had two daughters and a son. Sullivan died on August 8, 1982. He is buried in

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. ...

. The house that Sullivan and his wife lived in, constructed in 1932–1933 in Manchester, New Hampshire, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in July 2023.

References

External links

Sullivan's Papers at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, John L. 1899 births 1982 deaths United States secretaries of the navy United States Under Secretaries of the Navy Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links