sentences:  Most notably, it was home to Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858) between 1841 and 1843.Perry was assigned to the yard from 1833 to 1843 in a variety of roles, during which time he is credited with improving the Navy's steamship navigation, education of enlisted men and commissioned officers, and improving the nation's lighthouse service.Perry's signature achievement was is 1854 expedition to Japan, in which he compelled the previously cloistered nation to open its borders more widely, inaugurating a series of economic and geopolitical changes.