George W. Melville

George Wallace Melville (January 10, 1841 – March 17, 1912) was a United States Navy officer, engineer and Arctic explorer.

He joined the U.S. Navy in 1861 and served as an engineer during the American Civil War. He was a member of three Arctic expeditions; the Polaris expedition in 1873, the ill-fated Jeannette expedition in 1879 and the Lady Franklin Bay expedition in 1884. During the Jeannette expedition, in search of the Open Polar Sea, ''Jeannette'' became icebound and was eventually crushed. Melville was one of the 13 survivors from the thirty-three men that began the expedition. The United States Congress awarded Melville the Congressional Gold Jeannette Medal for his gallantry and resourcefulness. He published a book in 1884 titled United States Naval Academy in Annapolis to test machinery and equipment before its installation in Navy ships as well as to aid in training engineering officers.

He served as chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering from 1887 to 1903 and was promoted to rear admiral in 1889. He oversaw the design of 120 ships and introduced innovations including the water-tube boiler, the triple-screw propulsion system, vertical engines, the floating repair ship, and the distilling ship. Provided by Wikipedia