John E. Pillsbury
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = John E. Pillsbury
| image = Pillsbury03.jpg
| caption =
| office = President of the National Geographic Society
| term_start =
| term_end = 1920
| predecessor =
| successor =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1846|12|15}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1919|12|30|1846|12|15}}
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| placeofburial = Arlington National Cemetery
| birth_place = Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_place =
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
|allegiance= United States of America
|branch={{Naval|United States|navy-1864}}
| serviceyears = 1862–1909
| rank = Rear admiral
| unit =
| commands = {{USS|Vesuvius|1888|2}}
| battles = American Civil War
Spanish–American War
| awards =
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
File:Pillsbury Current Meter01a.jpg. In 1885 this instrument was used in the Straits of Florida at a depth of 640 meters}}]]
John Elliott Pillsbury (15 December 1846 – 30 December 1919) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.
Biography
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Pillsbury was appointed midshipman in 1862 and commissioned an ensign in 1868. After serving on various stations afloat and ashore, he commanded the coast steamer Blake from 1884 to 1891 and did excellent scientific work, using some of his research instruments of his own invention. In the Spanish–American War, he commanded the dynamite cruiser {{USS|Vesuvius|1888|2}}, operating around the island of Cuba and in the vicinity of Morro Castle.{{cite book|editor1-last=Tucker|editor1-first=Spencer C.|title=The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History, Volume I|date=2009|publisher=ABC CLIO|isbn=9781851099511|page=677|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8V3vZxOmHssC&pg=PA677}} In 1905 he served as Chief of Staff of the North Atlantic Fleet and in 1908–09, was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. In 1908 he was the first recipient of the West Indies Campaign Medal.
Although Rear Admiral Pillsbury's attainments as a sailor and a fighting man were noteworthy, he is perhaps best known as having been one of the world's foremost geographers and an authority on the Gulf Stream. Actively identified with the National Geographic Society for many years, he was president of the society at the time of his death. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery; his wife Florence was buried with him after her death in 1925.[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CglwaWxsc2J1cnkSBGpvaG4-/ Arlington National Cemetery]
Namesakes
Two U.S. Navy ships have been christened {{USS|Pillsbury}} in his honor. Pillsbury Sound, the body of water in the U.S. Virgin Islands between St Thomas, St John, and the cays which bound the sound on the North side,{{Cite web
|url = http://captainwiki.com/index.php5?title=Pillsbury_Sound
|title = Pillsbury Sound
|work = captainwiki.com
|accessdate = 19 October 2010
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110708115515/http://captainwiki.com/index.php5?title=Pillsbury_Sound
|archivedate = 8 July 2011
}} is also named in his honor.
Gallery
File:Council of War USS Colorado June 1871.jpg|{{center|A posed photograph of U.S. Navy officers holding a council of war aboard the Asiatic Squadron flagship, the steam frigate {{USS|Colorado|1856|6}}, off Korea in June 1871 prior to the Korean Expedition. Pillsbury, photographed as a master, stands on the left.}}
References
{{reflist}}
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p7/pillsbury-i.htm}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillsbury, John E.}}
Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Category:National Geographic Society
Category:Military personnel from Lowell, Massachusetts
Category:United States Navy admirals
{{US-navy-bio-stub}}