James Russell Soley (1 October 1850 – 11 September 1911) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and naval

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, and served as an

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

for the United States military.

Biography

Born in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

, Soley graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1870. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Ethics and English at 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 ...

on 1 October 1871. Only two years later, he became Head of the Department of English Studies, History, and Law. On 9 June 1882, Soley was assigned to the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

. He served as Superintendent of the naval war records office and he headed the Navy Department Library: Office of Naval Records and Library. During this duty, Soley began the collection of the naval documents of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and started the editorial work which culminated in the publication of the 31-volume collection, The '' Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion''. These years also saw the publication of several of Soley's books and articles on American naval history. In 1884, Commodore

Stephen B. Luce Stephen Bleecker Luce (March 25, 1827 – July 28, 1917) was a U.S. Navy admiral. He was the founder and first president of the Naval War College, between 1884 and 1886. Biography Born in Albany, New York, to Dr. Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleecke ...

appointed Soley instructor in International Law at the newly established

United States Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, thereby becoming that institution's first civilian faculty member. While serving in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Soley studied law at Columbian University (now called

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

) and received his law degree in 1890. On 18 July 1890 he resigned his commission to become an

, dealing with administration of labor in naval shore establishments. He served in this position until March 1893. After his service with the Navy Soley moved to

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 ...

to practice law, working with his former naval chief, Benjamin F. Tracy, who had been Secretary of the Navy from 1889 to March 1893. Soley specialized in international law. He served as counsel for

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

during the arbitration at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1899, which stemmed from a boundary dispute with 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 ...

which had resulted in the

Venezuela Crisis of 1895 The Venezuelan crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland about the territory of Essequibo and Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela ...

. Soley died in New York City on 11 September 1911. U.S.Navy, James R. Soley (1850-1911), page article

Legacy

was named for him.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soley, James R. 1850 births 1911 deaths Harvard College alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni American naval historians American male non-fiction writers International law scholars Naval War College faculty United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy