Richard Robert McNulty was a former

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 ...

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 ...

and a former

United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the U ...

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, on April 20, 1899, and died in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, on November 1, 1980. 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 ...

community considers Vice Admiral McNulty, a World War II veteran, who had long advocated for the academy's creation, its "Father".
USMMA The academy's McNulty Campus is named for the vice admiral. He served as the academy's 3rd superintendent. Vice Admiral McNulty was, too, a professor emeritus at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Career

McNulty served as a

Merchant marine officer A licensed mariner is a sailor who holds a license from a maritime authority to hold senior officer-level positions aboard ships, boats, and similar vessels. Qualification standards for licensed mariners are universally set by the STCW Conventi ...

from 1917 to 1920. Beginning as a nautical specialist, he served with the U.S. Dept. of Navy from 1920 to 1937. McNulty was supervisor of the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps of the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

from 1938 to 1948. He was on active duty in 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 ...

during

World War II 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 ...

from 1942 until 1946, attaining the rank of commodore.''Merriam Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary'', p 250 In 1946, McNulty was appointed the 3rd superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, the latest of the five

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 ...

and an institution for which McNulty had advocated since the late 1920s. He served as the academy's superintendent until his retirement from the military in 1948. McNulty was a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Engineers.''Marquis Who's Who in America'', Vol. 27 (1952-1953), Chicago, A.N. Marquis Co., © 1952, p. 1658

Education

Richard Robert McNulty graduated from the Massachusetts Nautical School (1919). He received a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (1922).

Major military decorations

Order of Naval Merit (Cuba) - ribbon bar

Order of Naval Merit (Cuba) The Cuban Order of Naval Merit (First Class) was a medal of special merit. The Cuban Order of Naval Merit was a state order of chivalry or merit. Its medals, awarded by the Cuban government from the 1920s through the 1950s, were made by the Cuban f ...

(1939) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(1946)

Other honors

*Georgetown University's McNulty Foreign Service Scholarship (established 1945) is named for Vice Admiral McNulty. *The Vice Admiral Richard R. McNulty Award is among the awards bestowed annually upon members of the USMMA graduating class.

References

External links

*

USMMA {{DEFAULTSORT:McNulty, Richard R. 1899 births 1980 deaths People from Gloucester, Massachusetts United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Georgetown University faculty United States Merchant Marine Academy superintendents Military personnel from Massachusetts 20th-century American academics