Philip Rounseville Alger (September 29, 1859 – February 23, 1912) was an American Naval officer.

Biography

Philip Rounseville Alger was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was the noted Unitarian minister William Rounseville Alger. He entered the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in 1876 and graduated four years later at the head of his class. His first cruise, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, took him to the

Pacific station The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of A ...

and to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In 1882, Alger was ordered to the

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History Congress established the Bureau in the Departmen ...

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, ...

This assignment exposed him for the first time to the field in which he was to later win marked distinction. Following duty in European waters on board USS ''Pensacola'' from 1885 to 1889, Alger returned to the

. On November 10, 1890, he resigned his commission as a line officer ensign to accept an appointment as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of mathematics with an equivalent rank of lieutenant. One year later, he was named head of the department of mechanics at 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 ...

. In ensuing years, Alger was closely involved in the advances made in naval ordnance which were made as the United States established its "New Navy". In 1903, Alger accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

, an office that entailed the editing of the institute's ''

Proceedings In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings is a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the confere ...

''. The following year, Alger was appointed to a special board to advise the

in developing and test ordnance material. Alger's extensive writing on

ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...

included two books, ''Exterior Ballistics'' (1904) and ''The Elastic Strength of Guns'' (1906), which came to be regarded as standards in their fields. His work entitled ''Hydromechanics'' (1902) was used as a textbook at the Naval Academy and other institutions of higher learning. Alger also penned numerous articles on a wide range of technical subjects. Alger died at

Annapolis, Maryland 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 ...

, on February 23, 1912.

Attribution

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alger, Philip Rounseville 1859 births 1912 deaths Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Naval Academy alumni Writers from Boston