United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (also known as USNA, Annapolis, or simply Navy) is a four-year coeducational federal service academy adjacent to Annapolis, Maryland. Established on 10 October 1845, under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States' five service academies, and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, east of Washington, D.C. and southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus (known to insiders as "the Yard") is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.
William Chauvenet
He was instrumental in the 1845 founding of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and taught there for years. He was president of the academic board and in 1851 was part of a board that recommended the course of study be extended to four years. Chauvenet taught in many subjects, including mathematics, surveying, astronomy, and navigation. He helped to establish an astronomical observatory at the naval academy. Chauvenet's contributions were so important that in 1890, Admiral S.R. Franklin proclaimed him "Father of the Naval Academy". A bronze plaque was installed with this inscription in 1916, at the behest of Congress.