By: HISTORY.com Editors

U.S. Naval Academy opens

HISTORY.com Editors

Published: July 21, 2010

Last 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.

Timeline

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1877

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1935

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1940

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1954

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1957

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1973

Vice President Agnew resigns

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1985

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1987

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1991

A former postal worker commits mass murder

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2004

Superman Christopher Reeve dies at age 52

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2014

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Citation Information

Article title: U.S. Naval Academy opens
Author: HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name: History
URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/october-10/birth-of-the-u-s-naval-academy

Date Accessed: August 07, 2025
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: January 24, 2025
Original Published Date: July 21, 2010

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