Today in U.S. Naval History: July 1

Today in U.S. Naval History - July 1

1797 - Naval Regulations passed by Congress

1800 - First convoy duty; USS Essex escorts convoy of merchant ships from East Indies to U.S.

1801 - U.S. squadron under Commodore Dale enters Mediterranean to strike Barbary Pirates

1850 - Naval School at Annapolis renamed Naval Academy

1851 - Naval Academy adopts four year course of study

1911 - Trial of first Navy aircraft, Curtiss A-1. The designer, Glenn Curtiss, makes first flight in Navy's first aircraft, A-1, at Lake Keuka, NY, then prepares LT Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval aviator, for his two solo flights in A-1.

1914 - Prohibition of alcohol begins in the Navy

1916 - Establishment of informal school for officers assigned to submarines at New London, Conn.

1918 - USS Covington hit without warning by two torpedoes from German Submarine U-86 and sank the next day

1933 - USS Constitution commences tour of principal U.S. seaports.

1946 - First of two detonations, Operation Crossroads nuclear test

1951 - Responsibility for the Government of Trust Territories transferred from Navy to Department of Interior.

1972 - Date of rank of Rear Admiral Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., who was first U.S. Navy Admiral of African-American descent.

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.