By: HISTORY.com Editors

1845

U.S. Naval Academy opens

Published: July 21, 2010Last Updated: January 24, 2025

The United States Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. Known as the Naval School until 1850, the curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French.

The Naval School officially became the U.S. Naval Academy in 1850, and a new curriculum went into effect, requiring midshipmen to study at the academy for four years and to train aboard ships each summer—the basic format that remains at the academy to this day.

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Citation Information

Article title
U.S. Naval Academy opens
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
August 28, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 24, 2025
Original Published Date
July 21, 2010

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