Theodore D. Wilson
| Theodore D. Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Theodore Delavan Wilson May 11, 1840 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 29, 1896 (aged 56) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1861–1896 |
| Rank | Chief Constructor Instructor, Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding |
| Commands |
Bureau of Construction and Repair United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland Portsmouth Navy Yard Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pensacola Navy Yard, Brooklyn Navy Yard |
| Battles/wars | |
Theodore Delavan Wilson (also Theodore Delevan Wilson) (11 May 1840 – 29 June 1896) was an American naval ship designer, constructor and instructor of naval architecture and shipbuilding. As chief constructor for the Bureau of Construction and Repair from 1882 to 1892, he was in charge of all new warship design for the United States Navy. Through his efforts, the Navy began its transition out of a post–Civil War slump to become a modern naval power. Warships he designed include the pre-dreadnought battleship USS Maine, whose destruction in Havana, Cuba in 1898 precipitated the Spanish–American War.
Born in New York City, Wilson apprenticed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard under Naval Constructor B.F. Delano. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he volunteered for U.S. Army service and served as a non–commissioned officer in the 13th New York Regiment. Upon his return from the front in August 1861, he was transferred to the U.S. Navy and was appointed as a carpenter in the construction department. He served on the USS Cambridge between 1861 and 1863. On the Cambridge he participated in the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads against the ironclad CSS Virginia.
In 1863, Wilson was ordered on special duty to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to help direct the construction, repair and alteration of various vessels. Three years later, he passed the required examination and was commissioned an assistant naval constructor; he eventually served at naval facilities in Pensacola, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Between 1869 and 1873, he taught naval architecture and shipbuilding at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1870, Wilson was sent on special duty to Great Britain and France. In Britain, he viewed vessels recently completed and under construction and toured shipbuilding and armor rolling mills. In 1873, he was promoted to naval constructor.
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