Sumner Increase Kimball (September 2, 1834 – June 20, 1923) was the organizer of the
United States Life-Saving Service
The United States Life-Saving ServiceDespite the lack of hyphen in its insignia, the agency itself is hyphenated in government documents including: and was a Federal government of the United States, United States government agency that grew out ...
and the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878–1915. Originally a lawyer and a legislative administrator, Kimball spent his life creating and leading the Life-Saving Service, one of the predecessor services that eventually became the
US Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
, transforming it from an uneven collection of facilities round the US coastline into a coherent and well-trained organization.
Biography
Sumner Increase Kimball was born in
Lebanon, Maine
Lebanon is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,469 at the 2020 census. Lebanon includes the villages of Center Lebanon, West Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon and East Lebanon. It is the westernmost town in Ma ...
on September 2, 1834.
Raised in
Sanford, Maine
Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city ...
, he graduated from
Bowdoin College in 1855, and was admitted to the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
in 1858. He was elected to the
Maine House of Representatives in 1859.
He became a clerk in the
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
in 1862, and was placed in charge of the Revenue Marine Bureau there in 1871. When the Life-Saving Bureau was organized in 1878 he was appointed its head. Under his direction, the Life-Saving Service was extended to the
Pacific Coast and the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. He served as superintendent of the Lifesaving Service for 37 years.
Kimball also served in several other positions at the Treasury Department (acting Register, acting Comptroller, acting Solicitor). He was the author of ''Organization and Methods of the United States Life-Saving Service'' (1889) and
''Joshua James: Life-Saver'' (1909).
He died at his home 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, ...
on June 20, 1923.
Legacy
The Coast Guard cutter is named in Kimball's honor. She is a -class
cutter, also known as a National Security Cutter. As of 2022, these are the largest and most capable cutters in the Coast Guard fleet. They can perform a wide array of law enforcement duties, as well coastal defense and anti-terrorism if needed. They can also be called upon by the Department of Defense to work with the
US 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 ...
in a both a national defense capacity, as well as performing military missions overseas.
References
External links
Biography- detailed biography, with photographs, on U.S. Coast Guard website
The United States Life-Saving Service contemporary article printed in The Bay State Monthly, 1890
*
Bowdoin College alumni
American non-fiction writers
1834 births
1923 deaths
People from Lebanon, Maine
People from Sanford, Maine
Writers from Maine
Members of the Maine House of Representatives
Clerks
Maine lawyers
19th-century American lawyers
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