| 1862: | Congress creates rank of Rear Admiral. David G. Farragut is named the first Rear Admiral |
| 1912: | Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske receives patent for torpedo plane or airborne torpedo. |
| 1915: | First Navy ships, battleships Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin transit Panama Canal. |
| 1945: | First atomic bomb test at Alamogordo, NM. |