Today in U.S. Naval History: September 9

Today in U.S. Naval History - September 9

1825 - USS Brandywine sails for France to carry the Marquis de Lafayette home after his year long visit to America.

1841 - First iron ship authorized by Congress

1940 - Navy awards contracts for 210 ships, including 12 carriers and seven battleships

1943 - Operation Avalanche, Western Naval Task Force under Vice Adm. Hewitt, USN, lands Allied forces at Salerno, Italy

1944 - Fifth Fleet carrier aircraft begin air strikes on Japanese shipping and facilities at Mindanao, Philippines

1945 - A "computer bug" is first identified and named by Lt. Grace Murray Hopper while she was on Navy active duty in 1945. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University. The operators affixed the moth to the computer log, where it still resides, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term.

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