Robert Lees Phythian (July 21, 1835 – January 20, 1917) was a United States naval officer who was the first superintendent of the

New York Nautical School State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

and later was a superintendent for the

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

and the

U.S. Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

Biography

Phythian, was born in New York in 1835. After graduating from the Naval Academy, he served on the frigate , flagship to the

Brazil Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When th ...

. In 1859 he was promoted to Master, and in 1861 served on the sloop . That same year, he was commissioned as a lieutenant, and then served at the Naval Academy from 1862 to 1863. He was then assigned to the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

, part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In 1864 he was assigned to another ironclad, and continued to serve on blockading duty until the end of the war in 1865. From 1866 to 1869 he served as an instructor again at the Naval Academy. On July 13, 1870, Phythian was commissioned a commander and became chief of staff of the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...

, remaining there until 1872. He 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 ...

from 1873 until 1874, then was transferred to the New York Nautical School (now

SUNY Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

) as its first superintendent. Phythian would remain the superintendent of the school until 1878, after which he was assigned for special duty in 1879 and later torpedo instruction in 1880. In November 1881 he was promoted to captain. He then returned to the Boston Navy Yard, where he served from 1882 to 1883. After this, he was assigned to the ship 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 ...

, where he served from 1883 to 1886. Upon his return he served as superintendent of the

Naval Observatory The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a Observatory, scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1 ...

from 1886 to 1890, and then as superintendent of the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

from 1890 to 1894. On September 7, 1894, he was commissioned commodore and then returned to the Naval Observatory, where he served as superintendent until his retirement in July 1897. Phythian died in 1917.

References

The records of living officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
1902

Biography

References

Further reading