Mark Lambert Bristol (April 17, 1868 – May 13, 1939) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States 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 ...

Biography

He was born on April 17, 1868, in

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,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 1887. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, he served aboard the battleship USS ''Texas'' and participated in the

Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred ...

. From 1901 to 1903, he served as aide to the Commander-in-Chief

North Atlantic Fleet The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the North ...

. He commanded the battleship USS ''Oklahoma'' during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served as the US High Commissioner in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

(1919–1927). His correspondence and other documents that he gathered are often cited during discussions on numerous events of that era, including

Turkish-Armenian relations Armenians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Ermenileri; hy, Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, down from a population of over 2 ...

in which he played a significant role in his opposition to Armenian aspirations and American involvement in assuming a mandate in Armenia, Bristol was an

antisemite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

who also hated the Greeks and the Armenians. His documents include writings such as the following in reference to a Greek newspaper reporter: "Mrs. Danos was typical of the races in this part of the country. She is obsequious and cringing and says she wants the truth but she probably couldn't write the truth if she knew it." The collection includes several examples of such opinions. It is particularly rich in its coverage of Bristol's duties as commander of the US Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters and concurrent service as US High Commissioner to Turkey after World War I. In 1919 he called the Greeks "about the worst race in the Near East", and he also stated that "Armenians are a race like the Jews; they have little or no national spirit and have poor moral character". Topics from the period include racial and religious conflicts in the Near East; the

Great Fire of Smyrna The burning of Smyrna ( el, Καταστροφή της Σμύρνης, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; tr, 1922 İzmir Yangını, "1922 Izmir Fire"; hy, Զմիւռնիոյ Մեծ Հրդեհ, ''Zmyuṙno Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of ...

; Allied activities in pursuit of special interests, mandates, and empire; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; and the rise of

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

and the Nationalist Movement, which led to the founding of modern Turkey. In 1927, Bristol assumed command of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

and helped found the American Hospital in Nişantaşı, İstanbul, in 1920 and the annexed nursing school, which is still named Admiral Bristol Nursing School after him. Bristol served as chairman of the

General Board of the United States Navy The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...

from 1930 to 1932 and died on May 13, 1939. After his death, in 1945 he was honored by the renaming of the American Hospital in Turkey to the Admiral Bristol American Hospital.

Namesakes

Two ships have been named USS ''Bristol'' in his honor.

References

Bibliography

* * ''Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City'' by

Marjorie Housepian Dobkin Marjorie Anaïs Housepian Dobkin () was an author and an English professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York. Her books include the novel ''A Houseful of Love'' (a '' New York Times'' and ''New York Herald Tribune'' bestseller) an ...

(1971) * '' Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922'' by

Giles Milton Giles Milton FRHistS (born 15 January 1966) is a British writer who specialises in narrative history. His books have sold more than one million copies in the UK. and been published in twenty-five languages. He has written twelve works of non-fi ...

, 2008, Sceptre, * ''The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey’s Destruction of Its Christian Minorities, 1894–1924'' by

Benny Morris Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of t ...

and

Dror Ze'evi Dror Ze'evi (born 1953, Haifa) is an Israeli historian who studies political, social and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and the Levant. Ze'evi's father, , was deputy head of Mossad, and his mother, Galila, is an interior designe ...

* ''The Blight of Asia: On the Systematic Extermination of Christian Populations in Asia'' by

George Horton George Horton (October 11, 1859 – June 5, 1942) was a member of the United States diplomatic corps who held several consular offices in Greece and the Ottoman Empire between 1893 and 1924. During two periods he was the U.S. Consul or Consul Ge ...

External links

hazegray.org: USS ''Bristol''

Admiral Mark Bristol

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bristol, Mark Lambert 1868 births 1939 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I People from Glassboro, New Jersey American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals Military personnel from New Jersey Military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal