MacGillivray Milne (August 19, 1882 – January 26, 1959) was a

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 ...

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 ...

, and the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

from January 20, 1936, to June 3, 1938. After graduating from 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 ...

, Milne served many posts in the Navy, including heading the Department of Modern Languages at the Naval Academy. He was a veteran of a large numbers of conflicts, including the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

, the

United States occupation of Veracruz The Battle of Veracruz was a military conflict between the United States and Mexico that took place in the Mexican port city of Veracruz between April 21 to November 23, 1914. The incident occurred in the midst of poor diplomatic relations be ...

, and both

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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Milne commanded a number of ships, but his last one was the battleship '. After the ship struck a private fishing vessel and killed two civilians, Milne was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

ed and stripped of three grades which determined his eligibility for promotion. As governor, Milne pushed for the modernization of

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, and sought increased federal aid for the islands; his efforts to obtain additional funding for the island largely ended in failure. He died in 1959 at the

Naval Hospital Oakland Naval Hospital Oakland, also known as Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, was a United States Navy, U.S. naval hospital located in Oakland, California that opened during World War II (1942) and closed in 1996 as part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closur ...

, and was buried in Sparkill, Rockland County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

Milne was born on August 19, 1882, in

Gauley Bridge, West Virginia Gauley Bridge is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 553 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Kanawha River is formed at Gauley Bridge by the confluence of the Ne ...

. He married Natalie Elise Blauvelt on June 2, 1917. He lived most of his ashore life in

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 ...

. Because of his difficult to spell and overly-long given name, Milne always signed official letters "M. Milne".

Naval service

Milne graduated from the

in 1903, and served as a naval officer in multiple different wars, including the

, the

, and both

and

. He served a post at the

. While there, he joined a panel of three other officers in researching the scholarship of

student athlete Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at sec ...

s at the Academy over a period of thirty years. The panel found that these athletes were likely to stay in the

for long periods of time, and were often career minded. At the Academy, Milne also served as head of the

modern language A modern language is any human language that is currently in use as a native language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead clas ...

s department. In 1932, Milne was one of few American military officers chosen to travel to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to inspect a number of war veterans alongside Italian dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. Mussolini had invited officers from numerous countries in an effort to improve relations. Milne then commanded the ''

USS Arizona USS ''Arizona'' was a standard-type battleship built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state, she was the second and last ship in the . After being commissioned in 1916, ''Arizona'' remained stateside d ...

'' when, in 1934, the battleship collided with the private fishing vessel ''Umatilla'' off the coast of

Neah Bay, Washington Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 935 at the 2020 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Europeans originally call ...

, on July 26, 1934. The collision split the ''Umatilla'' in half, and two of its crew drowned. Milne underwent a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

, where the blame for the crash was placed upon him. The court stripped him of three grades of seniority within his rank, making it very difficult for him to be promoted. Milne had been ranked 149th in the Navy register, but retired with the rank he had at this time, that 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 ...

. Officials stated that the real punishment came from the "black mark" the court martial left upon Milne's record. His position on the ''Arizona'' ended soon after his conviction.

Governorship

Milne became the

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

on January 20, 1936, relieving Thomas Benjamin Fitzpatrick from command. He took steps in modernizing

; his wife appealed directly to

First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

to help improve the state of the islands' indoor plumbing and sanitation systems. Among his projects, Milne tried to have a library built for use by the

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent S ...

. Despite these efforts, neither of the two were able to acquire federal aid for the improvement of infrastructure. During his term, the inhabitants of American Samoa became increasingly

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Macgillivray 1882 births 1959 deaths Governors of American Samoa United States Navy officers United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Academy faculty Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island United States Navy personnel of World War I People from Sparkill, New York People from Fayette County, West Virginia Military personnel from West Virginia