George Wallace Melville (January 10, 1841 – March 17, 1912) was an American engineer,
Arctic explorer
Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...
, and author. As chief of the
Bureau of Steam Engineering The Bureau of Steam Engineering was a bureau of the United States Navy, created by the act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June ...
, he headed a time of great expansion, technological progress and change, often in defiance of the conservative element of the Navy hierarchy. He superintended the design of 120 ships and introduced the
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
, the triple-screw
propulsion
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
system, vertical engines, the floating repair ship, and the "distilling ship." Appointed engineer in chief of the Navy, Melville reformed the service entirely, putting Navy engineers on a professional rather than an artisan footing.
Melville also established an engineering experiment station near the
United States 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 ...
in
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. As engineer-in-chief of the Navy, he fought hard to get an appropriation of $400,000 for an experiment and testing laboratory to be located at Annapolis. He argued that such a facility would be a dependable means for testing machinery and equipment before its installation in Navy ships and aid training engineering officers. Both, he surmised, would increase the efficiency of the Navy.
He made his first trip to the Arctic in 1873, when he volunteered to help rescue 19 survivors of the
''Polaris'' expedition. Six years later, he volunteered to accompany Lieutenant Commander
George W. De Long
George Washington De Long (22 August 1844 – ) was a United States Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated ''Jeannette'' expedition of 1879–1881, in search of the Open Polar Sea.
Career
''Jeannette'' expedition
In 1879, ...
on his
''Jeannette'' expedition, an arctic expedition on board to the
Bering Strait in search of a quick way to the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
. ''Jeannette'' became icebound and was eventually crushed; Melville, the 10 others in his small boat, and two from De Long's boat, were the only survivors.
Despite the extreme length and hardships of the trip, he returned in search of De Long and others who might possibly still be alive. He found none but retrieved all records of the expedition.
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
awarded Melville the
Congressional Gold Jeannette Medal
The Jeannette Medal is a Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 1890, to officers and crew of the ''Jeannette'' expedition. Eight gold and twenty-five silver medals were struck, resulting in all thirty-three members of the crew receiving a medal. T ...
for his gallantry and resourcefulness; the Navy advanced him 15 numbers on the promotion list. He wrote of the De Long expedition in his book,
''In the Lena Delta'', published in 1884.
Early life
Melville was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on January 10, 1841, the son of Alexander Melville, a chemist, and Sarah Wallace. He was educated at the School of the Christian Brothers, a religious academy, where he studied mathematics, and at the
Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
.
Naval career
American Civil War
He entered the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
on July 29, 1861, and became an officer of the engineer corps, with the rank of third assistant engineer. His first year afloat was spent on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
' gunboat , during which time he was promoted to second assistant engineer. Melville served in the sloops of war and from mid-1862 until late in 1864, taking part in the capture of in October 1864.
He finished the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in the
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...
, area working with torpedo boats and as an engineer on the gunboat . After the war was over, First Assistant Engineer Melville served aboard several ships, among them the experimental cruiser , gunboat , steam sloop and
Asiatic Squadron
The Asiatic Squadron was a 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 were primarily invo ...
flagship . For the remainder of his life, Melville belonged to the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
, serving as national commander-in-chief of the Loyal Legion from 1911 to 1912.
In 1867, Melville married Henrietta Beatty Waldron of Buffalo. The couple had three children.
Arctic exploration
In 1873, he volunteered for duty as chief engineer of for her rescue in
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay ( Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arct ...
of 19 survivors of the
''Polaris'' expedition to the Arctic.
In the summer of 1879, he was an eager and daring volunteer when an
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
expedition under Lieutenant Commander
George W. De Long
George Washington De Long (22 August 1844 – ) was a United States Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated ''Jeannette'' expedition of 1879–1881, in search of the Open Polar Sea.
Career
''Jeannette'' expedition
In 1879, ...
left San Francisco aboard on August 7, 1879, to try to find a quick way to the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
via the
Bering Strait. ''Jeannette'' became icebound in September and after two years of effort to save her, was crushed by
ice floes
An ice floe () is a large pack ice, pack of Drift ice, floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice fl ...
in the
Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, th ...
and sank June 12, 1881 – leaving the crew stranded on the ice floes in mid-ocean in three small boats and with scant provisions.
Melville was the only boat commander to bring his crew to safety in the
Lena Delta
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. Later, he set out in search of De Long and his men, traveling over a thousand miles in the deadly cold of the
Arctic winter
The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midnig ...
only to find them dead. However, he was able to recover and bring back all the records of the expedition. The third boat, under the command of
Charles W. Chipp
Charles Winans Chipp (August 23, 1848 – ) was a United States Navy officer and explorer.Burnett, Charles E. (1933). ''The Chipp Family in England and America, With Genealogical Tree''. Los Angeles: United Printing Company. pp. 49– ...
, was never found and Chipp and seven other men were presumed dead.
The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
rewarded Melville for his gallantry and resourcefulness by advancing him 15 numbers on the promotion list and awarding him the
Jeannette Medal
The Jeannette Medal is a Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 1890, to officers and crew of the ''Jeannette'' expedition. Eight gold and twenty-five silver medals were struck, resulting in all thirty-three members of the crew receiving a medal. T ...
. The incredible hardships of the expedition are described in his book, ''In the Lena Delta'', published in 1884.
Melville was promoted to the rank of chief engineer during his time in ''Jeannette'' and again went to the Arctic in in 1884, for the
Greely Relief expedition in search of the survivors of an Arctic expedition commanded by Army Lieutenant
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of Major general (United States), major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native o ...
.
Steam engineering
![George W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/George_W._Melville_-_Brady-Handy.jpg)
Melville was an Inspector of Coal in 1884–1886, then performed his final seagoing duty in the new cruiser . President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
appointed Melville
Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering The Bureau of Steam Engineering was a bureau of the United States Navy, created by the act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June ...
August 9, 1887, with the relative rank of commodore.
During more than a decade and a half in that post, he was responsible for the Navy's propulsion systems during an era of remarkable force expansion, technological progress and institutional change. Melville superintended the design of 120 ships of the "New Navy". Among the major technical innovations that he helped introduce, often in defiance of the conservative opinion within the naval establishment, were the
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
, the triple-screw
propulsion
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
system, vertical engines, the floating repair ship, and the distilling ship.
Promoted to rear admiral March 3, 1899, he was appointed engineer in chief of the Navy December 6, 1900. Melville entirely reformed the service, putting Navy engineers on a professional rather than an artisan footing.
The
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
laboratory was a brainchild of Melville. As engineer-in-chief of the Navy, he fought hard to get an appropriation of $400,000 for an experiment and testing laboratory to be located at Annapolis. In 1903, he finally was successful in obtaining the appropriation for the engineering experiment station.
His primary argument for the establishment of an experiment station was that it would increase the efficiency of the Navy. His idea was to establish a dependable means for testing—before installation—machinery and equipment designed for Navy ships. His secondary argument was that it could aid in training engineering officers and accordingly should be located in Annapolis near 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 ...
.
Prior to his retirement, Melville headed a committee tasked with studying how to use fuel oil in Navy boilers instead of coal. They strongly recommended that a testing plant be developed to test methods of burning fuel in Navy boilers. On November 18, 1910, the
Secretary of Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the sec ...
authorized "... the construction and equipment, at an estimated cost of $10,000.00, of a structure simulating a naval fireroom, for the purpose of instigating the subject of fuel oil burning in connection with the design of proposed oil burning battleships" in an existing building at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
.
Retirement
Retiring from active duty on January 10, 1903, Melville spent his final years in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, where he continued to be engaged in matters relating to his profession. His first wife having died in 1882, Melville married Estella Smith Polis in 1907. She died two years later. There was no issue from their marriage.
Melville was the recipient of many honors during his lifetime, both in the United States and internationally. He was one of the 33 founding members of the
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
. He died in Philadelphia on March 17, 1912, and was interred at
Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.
The cemetery is ...
.
Melville was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the
Naval Order of the United States The Naval Order of the United States was established in 1890 as a hereditary organization in the United States for members of the American sea services. Its primary mission is to encourage research and writing on naval and maritime subjects and pr ...
– a military society of naval officers and their descendants. In 1886, he became a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
and served as its commander from 1908 to 1909 and also served as national commander-in-chief of the Order from 1911 to 1912. He was a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
and an honorary member of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...
and served as its 18th president.
Legacy
![Admiral George W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Admiral_George_W._Melville_by_Samuel_Murray_1923.jpg)
The U.S. Navy has named two ships in his honor: the destroyer tender , 1915–1948; and the
oceanographic
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...
research ship , 1969–2016. The fuel depot at the Newport Naval Station in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...
, was named Melville Point. A nearby elementary school is named Melville School. Also bearing his name is
Melville, Montana
Melville is an unincorporated community in northern Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States. It lies along local roads just west of U.S. Route 191, north of the city of Big Timber, the county seat of Sweet Grass County. Its elevation is 5,020 ...
.
The Navy's George W. Melville Award recognizes outstanding engineering contributions in the applications of knowledge toward research and development of materials, devices, and systems or methods; including design, development, and integration of prototypes and new processes. The Melville Medal is awarded periodically by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in honor of the best original paper from its transactions.
Melville Hall, built in 1937 on the campus of the
United States 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 ...
, was used as classroom and laboratory space for the steam and electrical engineering departments. Melville's name lives on as the new hall's Melville Entrance.
There is a statue of Admiral Melville in Navy Park at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
.
The
Melville Glacier and
Melville Land
Melville Land is an area in Peary Land, North Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.Google Maps
History
Robert Peary named the territory, together with Heilprin Land, in 1892 during his North Greenland Ex ...
in Greenland were named after him by
Robert Peary
Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in Apri ...
.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
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George Melville Conduct and Letter book Related to the "Jeannette"at Dartmouth College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melville, George
19th-century American naval officers
1841 births
1912 deaths
Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Jeannette expedition
Military personnel from New York City
National Geographic Society founders
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni
Shipwreck survivors
Union Navy officers
United States Navy admirals
United States Navy engineering officers