Alfred Thayer Mahan (27 September 1840-1 December 1914) was a US Navy captain and historian whose 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 helped re-establish the importance of naval power and inspire American imperialism in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Biography[]
Alfred Thayer Mahan was born in West Point, New York in 1840, and he graduated second in his class from the Naval Academy in 1859. He served in the US Navy during the American Civil War, fighting at the Battle of Port Royal in South Carolina in 1861. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1865, Commander in 1872, and Captain in 1885, and he was stationed at Callao, Peru to protect United States interests during the War of the Pacific. Mahan preferred to avoid active sea duty and instead became a lecturer in naval history at the Naval War College in 1885; he went on to write The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 in 1890, and he befriended future President Theodore Roosevelt, who was fascinated by his views on the importance of sea power, redefining the seas as a highway for expansion rather than a natural boundary. He consulted on naval strategy during the Spanish-American War, popularized the term "Middle East" in a 1902 National Review article, became president of the American Historical Association in 1902, and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1906 while in retirement. At the outbreak of World War I, he published pro-British comments which led to President Woodrow Wilson ordering all active and retired officers to refrain from commenting on the war, hoping to preserve American neutrality. He died in Washington DC in December 1914.