U.S. Naval Institute at 150

One of the great joys of this holiday season is the arrival in the coming new year of the U.S. Naval Institute’s 150th anniversary—the Sesquicentennial. In 1873, 15 Navy and Marine Corps officers met in the Naval Academy’s old physics building to discuss matters of professional interest, the Nation’s unseaworthy, shrinking fleet, the lack of sailors, and the near-total absence of promotions. The first issue of Proceedings from these discussions was published in 1874. The journal has flourished ever since with the mission of providing an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security. The Naval Institute Press joined in 1898. As the richness and wide array of titles—histories, biographies, analyses, and professional studies — in this catalog attest, the Institute is surging ahead giving voice to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

Commodore Foxhall Parker is credited with organizing the Institute’s first meeting on 9 October 1873, with 15 original members in attendance. Captain Edward L. “Ned” Beach, Jr., was a member of the Institute’s Board in the 1960s. A highly decorated World War II submariner, he served as President Eisenhower’s Naval Aide, authored the best-selling novel Run Silent, Run Deep, and took the nuclear submarine Triton, seen here, around the world submerged. Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Collin Powell was a keynote speaker in the 2017 History Conference. When he had been Chairman, his staff would flag articles of possible interest. He told them, “You don’t have to markup Proceedings. I read it monthly as a member.”