MacGillivray Milne (August 19, 1882 – January 26, 1959) was a

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 ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Sinc ...

from January 20, 1936, to June 3, 1938. After graduating from 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 ...

, Milne served many posts in the Navy, including heading the Department of Modern Languages at the Naval Academy. He was a veteran of a large numbers of conflicts, including the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, the

United States occupation of Veracruz The United States occupation of Veracruz (April 21 to November 23, 1914) began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was r ...

, and both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Milne commanded a number of ships, but his last one was the battleship '. After the ship struck a private fishing vessel and killed two civilians, Milne was

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed and stripped of three grades which determined his eligibility for promotion. As governor, Milne pushed for the modernization of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

, and sought increased federal aid for the islands; his efforts to obtain additional funding for the island largely ended in failure. He died in 1959 at the

Naval Hospital Oakland Naval Hospital Oakland, also known as Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, was a U.S. naval hospital located in Oakland, California that opened during World War II (1942) and closed in 1996 as part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure program. The site ...

, and was buried in

Sparkill Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudso ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

Milne was born on August 19, 1882, in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. He married Natalie Elise Blauvelt on June 2, 1917. He lived most of his ashore life in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. Because of his difficult to spell and overly-long given name, Milne always signed official letters "M. Milne".

Naval service

Milne graduated from the

in 1903, and served as a naval officer in multiple different wars, including the

, the

, and both

and

. He served a post at the

. While there, he joined a panel of three other officers in researching the scholarship of

student athlete A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or element ...

s at the Academy over a period of thirty years. The panel found that these athletes were likely to stay in the

for long periods of time, and were often career minded. At the Academy, Milne also served as head of the

modern language A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such a ...

s department. In 1932, Milne was one of few

American military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

officers chosen to travel to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to inspect a number of war veterans alongside Italian dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

. Mussolini had invited officers from numerous countries in an effort to improve relations. Milne then commanded the ''

USS Arizona ''Arizona'' has been the name of three ships of 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 la ...

'' when, in 1934, the battleship collided with the private fishing vessel ''Umatilla'' off the coast of

Neah Bay, Washington Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Originally called "Scarboro ...

, on July 26, 1934. The collision split the ''Umatilla'' in half, and two of its crew drowned. Milne underwent a

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, where the blame for the crash was placed upon him. The court stripped him of three grades of seniority within his rank, making it very difficult for him to be promoted. Milne had been ranked 149th in the Navy register, but retired with the rank he had at this time, that of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Officials stated that the real punishment came from the "black mark" the court martial left upon Milne's record. His position on the ''Arizona'' ended soon after his conviction.

Governorship

Milne became the

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Sinc ...

on January 20, 1936, relieving Thomas Benjamin Fitzpatrick from command. He took steps in modernizing

; his wife appealed directly to

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

to help improve the state of the islands'

indoor plumbing Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...

and sanitation systems. Among his projects, Milne tried to have a library built for use by the

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between t ...

. Despite these efforts, neither of the two were able to acquire federal aid for the improvement of infrastructure. During his term, the inhabitants of American Samoa became increasingly

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Macgillivray 1882 births 1959 deaths Governors of American Samoa United States Navy officers United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Academy faculty Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island United States Navy personnel of World War I People from Sparkill, New York