Back Alfred Thayer Mahan Afrikaans ألفريد ثاير ماهان Arabic الفريد ثاير ماهان ARZ Alfred Mexen Azerbaijani آلفرد ماهان AZB Алфред Махеан Bulgarian Alfred Thayer Mahan Czech Alfred Thayer Mahan German Alfred Mahan Spanish آلفرد ماهان Persian

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Alfred Thayer Mahan
Born(1840-09-27)September 27, 1840
West Point, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 1, 1914(1914-12-01) (aged 74)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried
Quogue Cemetery
Quogue, New York
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1859–1896
Rank Captain
Rear admiral (post-retirement)
CommandsUSS Chicago
USS Wasp
USS Wachusett
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War Spanish–American War
ChildrenHelen Evans Mahan (daughter)
Ellen Kuhn Mahan (daughter)
Lyle Evans Mahan (son)[1]
RelationsProfessor Dennis Hart Mahan (father)[2]
Mary Helena Okill Mahan (mother)
Sir James Jay (great-grandfather)
Other workAuthor of The Influence of Sea Power upon History and The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire
Signature

Alfred Thayer Mahan (/məˈhæn/; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century."[3] His 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 won immediate recognition, especially in Europe, and with the publication of its 1892 successor, The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812, he affirmed his status as a globally-known and regarded military strategist, historian, and theorist. Mahan's works encouraged the development of large capital ships — eventually leading to dreadnought battleships — as he was an advocate of the 'decisive battle' and of naval blockades. Critics, however, charged him with failing to adequately explain the rise of largely land-based empires, such as the German or Ottoman Empires, though Mahan did accurately predict both empires' defeats in World War I.[4][5][6] Mahan directly influenced the dominant interwar period and World War II-era Japanese naval doctrine of the "decisive battle doctrine" (艦隊決戦, Kantai Kessen),[7] and he became a "household name" in Germany.[8] He also promoted American control over Hawaii[9] though he was "lukewarm" in regards to American imperialism in general.[10] Four U.S. Navy ships have borne his name, as well as various buildings and roads; and his works are still read, discussed, and debated in military, historical, and scholarly circles.

  1. ^ Mahan, Lyle Evans; Hattendorf, John B. (1990). "My Parents, Rear Admiral and MRS. Alfred Thayer Mahan". Naval War College Review. 43 (4): 81–97. JSTOR 44638487.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NHHC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Keegan, John. The American Civil War Knopf, 2009, 272.
  4. ^ Vego, Milan (2009). "NWC 1005". Naval Classical Thinkers and Operational Art. Naval War College: 4. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Paret, Peter (1986). Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 453–455.
  6. ^ Suzanne Geisler, God and Sea Power: The Influence of Religion on Alfred Thayer Mahan (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2015), 1.
  7. ^ Vego, Milan (2009). Naval Classical Thinkers and Operational Art. Naval War College. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Herwig, 69–105.
  9. ^ Brinkley, Alan (2010). "19: From Crisis to Empire". The Unfinished Nation. Columbia University: McGraw-Hill. p. 499.
  10. ^ Geissler, 134–135.

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