Robert Files Lopez (March 31, 1857 – September 20, 1936) was an officer 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 ...

. He entered Annapolis with the Class of 1879, and he became the first

Hispanic-American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

to graduate 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 ...

Biography

Lopez served as an ensign aboard the during a voyage of exploration around Alaska in 1888–89. Lopez Point on

Herschel Island Herschel Island (french: Île d'Herschel; Inuit languages: ''Qikiqtaruk'') is an island in the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), which lies off the coast of Yukon in Canada, of which it is administratively a part. It is Yukon's only o ...

was named in his honor by the commander of ''Thetis'', Charles Stockton. The highlight of his 32-year naval career, was his service under

Admiral Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...

's command at the first major engagement of 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 ...

, the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

in 1898. Shortly after the war ended, Lopez became a

plankowner A plankowner"U.S. Navy Style Guide", Navy.mil website (also referred to a plank ownerCutler and Cutler, p 167 and sometimes a plank holder) is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard Cutt ...

of the torpedo boat USS ''Rowan'' (TB-8) when she was commissioned on 1 April 1899. Following his assignment to ''Rowan'', Lopez commanded the destroyer from 1904 to 1906. Captain Lopez's last posting before retirement was as senior member of a naval board which conducted a general survey of vessels on the Pacific coast. He retired as a

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

(

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 1911. Upon America's entry into

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 ...

in 1917, Lopez was recalled to duty as acting commandant of the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

, located northeast of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Commodore Lopez died in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

after a year's illness at the age of 77.

Awards

Dewey Medal The Dewey Medal was a military decoration of the United States Navy which was established by the United States Congress on June 3, 1898. The medal recognizes the leadership of Admiral of the Navy George Dewey, during the Spanish–American War, an ...

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 and 1913. Although a single service medal, the Philippin ...

* Victory Medal

Dates of rank

*Cadet Midshipman - 29 September 1874 *Midshipman - 10 June 1881 *Ensign (junior grade) - 3 March 1883 *Ensign - 26 June 1884 *Lieutenant (junior grade) - 16 April 1892 *Lieutenant - 1 April 1896 *Lieutenant Commander - 11 April 1902 *Commander - 1 July 1907 *Captain - c. March 1911 *Commodore, Retired list - 30 June 1911

References

1859 births 1936 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy commodores {{US-mil-hist-stub

Biography

Awards

Dates of rank

See also

References