1813 - HMS
Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence. As the mortally wounded Lawrence was carried below, he ordered, "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" These words would live on in naval history.
Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813.
1871 - Rear Adm. Rodgers lands in Korea with a party of Sailors and Marines and captures five forts to secure protection for U.S. citizens after Americans were fired upon and murdered.
1914 - General Order 99 prohibits alcohol aboard naval vessels, or at navy yards or stations.
1915 - First contract for lighter-than-air craft for Navy.
1939 - Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.
1944 - ZP-14 Airships complete first crossing of Atlantic by non-rigid lighter-than-air aircraft.
1954 - First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock (CV/CVA 19).
For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.