George Gordon McLintock, Vice Admiral ( USMS), (February 10, 1903 – April 23, 1990) was the longest serving Superintendent of the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

, one of the 5

United States service academies The United States service academies, also known as the United States military academies, are United States federal academies, federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States Armed Fo ...

, serving from 1948 to 1970.

Biography

Born in Dysart, Scotland of a long tradition of British merchant marine seaman, McLintock first went to sea on a

passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

with his merchant marine officer father, William McLintock, at the age of 3 years. Himself, commissioned a cadet in the

British merchant navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

in 1918, McLintock had a 30-year career as a merchant marine officer before being named the 4th Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1948. McLintock, who became a naturalized

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

citizen in 1921, was chief inspection officer of that country's

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was also president of the American Institute of Navigation from 1947 to 1949. The Vice Admiral was a graduate of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

’s

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...

(founded 1432 AD). He died of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...

.
Glen Fowler “Gordon McLintock, Admiral, 87; Led Merchant Marine Academy” April 26, 1990 ''New York Times''

Honors and awards

Naval Reserve Medal The Naval Reserve Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was created by order of Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson on 12 September 1938. The medal was first issued in 1938 and was an active award until 1958. On 12 September ...

with star (20 years) *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

*World War II Victory Medal, U.S. Merchant Marine * Order of Saint Dennis of Zante (Greece), Knight Commander *

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

(United Kingdom) *

Victory Medal (United Kingdom) The Victory Medal (also called the Inter-Allied Victory Medal) is a United Kingdom and British Empire First World War campaign medal. The award of a common allied campaign medal was recommended by an inter-allied committee in March 1919. Each a ...

*Officer,

Philippine Legion of Honor The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...

(8 point Star) *Officer, Order of Maritime Merit (France) *Officer, Order of Polonia Restitute (Poland) *

Silver Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was aw ...

with Swords (Poland) *American Legion Distinguished Service Medal *Greek American War Veterans Medal

References

1903 births 1990 deaths Merchant Marine Mariners sailors United States Merchant Marine Academy superintendents United States Navy admirals People educated at Sevenoaks School 20th-century American academics {{sailing-stub