Samuel Humphreys (23 November 1778 – 16 August 1846) was an American

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

and

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

in the early 19th century. He served 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 ...

as the Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846.

Naval architect

Samuel Humphreys supervised the construction of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, which was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

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, in 1798, and launched in 1799. He later constructed ships at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and supervised the construction of the ship-of-the-line , the first ship to be laid down at the yard, in 1815. In 1824, Humphreys turned down a very lucrative offer from Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

to create a Russian navy, saying: "I do not know that I possess the merits attributed to me, but, be they great or small, I owe them all to the flag of my country." In 1826, Humpherys was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Humphreys was Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846. He designed Americas first

first-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

ship-of-the-line, , which was laid down in 1821, but not launched until 1837. He also designed the supply ship , which was laid down in 1835 and launched in 1836. Around 1827, Humphreys took on John Lenthall as his apprentice to work as his assistant and draftsman, and in 1828 he nominated Lenthall for a position as one of the assistant naval constructors at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Lenthall would go on to serve as Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1849 to 1853 and as Chief of the Navys Bureau of Construction and Repair from 1853 to 1871.Tucker, pp. 348, 349.

Family

Humphreys's father was Joshua Humphreys (1751-1838), the naval architect for the first six frigates of the U.S. Navy. Samuel, and his wife Letitia, had sons

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

(1810-1883) and Joshua (1813–1873) who served in the Union Army and

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

, respectively, in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(1861-1865). His other children were Jane Murray McCrabb (1813–1897), Mary Yonge (1823–1866), and William Humphreys (1828–1897). Samuel Humphreys is buried at the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

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, with his sons Andrew and Joshua.

Notes

References

* * * Chapelle, Howard I. ''The History of the American Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their Development''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1949. . * Tucker, Spencer C., ed. ''Civil War Naval Encyclopedia''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2011, .

External links

Inventory of the Humphreys Family Papers, 1840-1918
in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill
Samuel Humphreys Letterbook, 1824-1845, MS 146
and hi
Directions for cutting Timber for a Frigate of the first Class, 1835, MS 194
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Samuel 1778 births 1846 deaths American naval architects United States Navy civilians American shipbuilders Burials at the Congressional Cemetery American people of Welsh descent Members of the American Philosophical Society

Naval architect

Family

See also

Notes

References

External links