Joseph Strauss (admiral)

Joseph Strauss
Rear Admiral Joseph Strauss aboard Black Hawk in 1919
Born	(1861-11-16)November 16, 1861 Mount Morris, New York
Died	December 30, 1948(1948-12-30) (aged 87)
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1887–1925, 1937–1938
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	USS Montgomery (C-9) USS Ohio (BB-12) USS Nevada (BB-36) Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet Asiatic Fleet
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War World War I
Relations	Elliott B. Strauss (son)

Admiral Joseph Strauss (16 November 1861 – 30 December 1948) was an officer of the United States Navy, who served in World War I, and later commanded the Asiatic Fleet.

Born in Mount Morris, New York, Strauss was commissioned as an ensign on 1 July 1887. He attended the United States Naval Academy and became admiral in the United States Navy. He began a distinguished career as specialist in ordnance in June 1893 when he reported to the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, D.C. During the Spanish–American War he served in the sloop Lancaster blockading the Cuban coast, then returned to the Bureau of Ordnance. He established the Naval Proving Ground at Indian Head, Maryland, from 1900 to 1902; served on a Special Board of Naval Ordnance in 1906; and was a member of the Joint Army-Navy Board on Smokeless Powders the following year. He conducted experimental work with torpedoes while commanding the cruiser Montgomery from 1909 to 1911; commanded the pre-dreadnought battleship Ohio in 1912; then became Chief of Bureau of Ordnance on 21 October 1913.

Strauss assumed command of the super-dreadnought Nevada on 30 December 1916 and remained in command as the United States entered World War I. Detached from the battleship in February 1918, he was designated Commander, Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal both for directing the laying of the North Sea Mine Barrage and for the hazardous task of clearing it after peace came.