The Navy Department Library
Commissioning Certificates of US Navy Officers in the Navy Department Library
| Presidential Signature | Term of Office | Date Document Signed | Name of Officer | Rank |
| **Continental Congress | 1774-1789 | 8 December 1775 | Abraham Whipple | Captain |
| **Signed by John Hancock | ||||
| George Washington | 1789-1797 | ------- | None in collection. | ------- |
| John Adams | 1797-1801 | 31 October 1799 | Thomas Chew | Purser |
| Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | 14 February 1807 | Melancthon T. Woolsey | Lieutenant |
| James Monroe | 1809-1817 | 13 January 1825 | David G. Farragut | Lieutenant |
| John Q. Adams | 1825-1829 | 1 December 1828 | John A. Dahlgren | Midshipman |
| Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | 1 June 1832 | John A. Dahlgren | Passed Midshipman |
| Martin Van Buren | 1837-1841 | 21 March 1837 | John A. Dahlgren | Lieutenant |
| William Harrison | 1841 | ------- | None in collection | ------- |
| John Tyler | 1841-1845 | 14 March 1842 | Samuel Miller | Lieutenant Colonel US Marine Corps |
| James Polk | 1845-1849 | 12 April 1845 | William Wood | Chief Engineer |
| 15 March 1848 | Kidder Breese | Midshipman | ||
| Zachary Taylor | 1849-1850 | ------- | None in collection | ------- |
| Millard Fillmore | 1850-1853 | 15 November 1850 | Eugene Mack | Gunner |
| Franklin Pierce | 1853-1857 | 2 October 1855 | John A. Dahlgren | Commander |
| 27 June 1856 | William A. Kirkland | Midshipman | ||
| James Buchanan | 1857-1861 | 27 January 1858 | William Low | Lieutenant |
| Abraham Lincoln | 1861-1865 | 1 June 1861 | John W. Phillip | Midshipman |
| ** 29 September 1862 | William T. Swinburne | Midshipman | ||
| 21 February 1863 | James M. Duncan | Commander | ||
| 21 February 1863 | Silas Casey, Jr. | Lieutenant | ||
| 21 February 1863 | John A.Dahlgren | Captain | ||
| ** 11 May 1865 | N. Beach Clark | Assistant Engineer | ||
| ** Signed by Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under President Lincoln | ||||
| Andrew Johnson | 1865-1869 | 8 September 1863 | Percival C. Pope | Captain |
| 12 July 1866 | Charles J. Barclay | Master | ||
| 23 July 1866 | Daniel A. Smith, Jr. | Assistant Pay-Master | ||
| 23 July 1866 | Daniel A. Smith, Jr. | Assistant Pay-Master | ||
| 26 July 1866 | John W. Phillip | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| 26 July 1866 | Frances M. Ramsay | Commander | ||
| 26 July 1866 | Robert S. Taylor | 1st Assistant Engineer | ||
| 20 December 1866 | Benjamin E. Long | Ensign | ||
| 2 February 1867 | Charles J. Barclay | Lieutenant | ||
| 2 March 1867 | Albert G. Clarey | Captain | ||
| 12 March 1868 | Benjamin Long Edes | Master | ||
| 12 March 1868 | Charles J. Barclay | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| 22 July 1868 | John A. Dahlgren | Chief, Bureau of Ordnance | ||
| Ulysses Grant | 1869-1877 | 26 March 1869 | William A. Kirkland | Commander |
| 9 December 1870 | Daniel A. Smith, Jr. | Paymaster Navy/Lieutenant |
||
| 17 March 1873 | George Robeson | Secretary of the Navy | ||
| 27 March 1873 | William Wood | Chief - Bureau of Steam | ||
| 9 January 1877 | Edward Dorn | Ensign | ||
| Rutherford Hayes | 1877-1881 | 27 January 1880 | Michael Bradley | Medical Inspector Commander |
| James Garfield | 1881 | ------- | None in collection | ------- |
| Chester Arthur | 1881-1885 | 22 October 1881 | Edward Dorn | Master |
| 20 December 1881 | Charles J. Barclay | Commander | ||
| 17 April 1882 | William L. Rodgers | Ensign | ||
| 19 May 1883 | Edward Dorn | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| Grover Cleveland | 1885-1889 | 3 March 1888 | Edward Dorn | Lieutenant |
| Benjamin Harrison | 1889-1893 | 22 July 1890 | Henry A. Wiley | Ensign |
| Grover Cleveland | 1893-1897 | 14 March 1894 | William L. Rodgers | Lieutenant |
| 13 October 1896 | Daniel A. Smith | Pay Inspector of the Navy Commander [temporary] | ||
| 2 February 1897 | Charles J. Barclay | Captain | ||
| 5 February 1897 | Daniel A. Smith | Pay Inspector of the Navy Commander (permanent) | ||
| William McKinley | 1897-1901 | 9 June 1897 | Washington B. Grove | Asst. Surg./Ensign |
| 7 February 1898 | Karl Rohrer | Lieutenent Commander | ||
| 21 November 1898 | Henry A. Wiley | Lieutenent (junior grade) | ||
| 24 April 1899 | Edward Dorn | Lieutenent Commander | ||
| 8 May 1899 | Henry A. Wiley | Lieutenant | ||
| 19 February 1900 | Daniel A. Smith | Pay Director of the Navy/Captain | ||
| 23 November 1900 | Karl Rohrer | Commander [temporary] | ||
| 29 January 1901 | Karl Rohrer | Commander | ||
| 11 March 1901 | William L. Rodgers | Lieutenent Commander | ||
| 12 March 1901 | Washington B. Grove | Assistant Surgeon/Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| Theodore Roosevelt | 1901-1909 | 18 March 1902 | Washington B. Grove | Assistant Surgeon/Lieutenant (junior grade) |
| 1 August 1902 | Julius F.Hellweg | Ensign | ||
| 24 January 1903 | Washington B. Grove | Surgeon/Lieutenant | ||
| 10 June 1903 | Washington B. Grove | Assistant Surgeon/Lieutenant Commander | ||
| 20 November 1903 | Charles J. Barclay | Rear Admiral | ||
| 14 July 1905 | Karl Rohrer | Captain [temporary] | ||
| 8 September 1905 | Julius F.Hellweg | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| 14 February 1906 | Julius F.Hellweg | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| 8 February 1906 | Karl Rohrer | Captain | ||
| 14 February 1906 | Julius F.Hellweg | Lieutenant | ||
| 10 May 1906 | William L. Rodgers | Commander | ||
| 28 May 1906 | Nathan Sargent | Captain | ||
| 26 June 1906 | William L. Rodgers | Commander | ||
| 18 February 1908 | Chester W. Nimitz | Ensign | ||
| 13 January 1909 | Howard Bemis | Ensign | ||
| William Taft | 1909-1913 | 27 December 1909 | William L. Rodgers | Captain |
| 12 March 1910 | Chester W. Nimitz | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| 12 March 1910 | Chester W. Nimitz | Lieutenant | ||
| 13 April 1911 | Karl Rohrer | Commander [Retired] | ||
| 24 October 1911 | Howard Bemis | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| 3 August 1912 | Julius F. Hellweg | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 | 19 June 1914 | Frank P. Thomas | Ensign |
| 19 August 1915 | Howard Bemis | Lieutenant | ||
| 4 April 1916 | Howard Bemis | Lieutenant | ||
| 27 May 1916 | Howard Bemis | Lieutenant | ||
| 16 March 1917 | Washington B. Grove | Medical Inspector | ||
| 16 March 1917 | Chester W. Nimitz | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| 16 March 1917 | William L. Rodgers | Rear Admiral | ||
| 19 June 1917 | Frank P. Thomas | Lieutenant (junior grade) | ||
| 22 June 1917 | Julius F. Hellweg | Commander | ||
| 25 February 192 | Harold Bemis | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| ** 30 September 1920 | Alfred D. Boone | Ensign | ||
| ** Signed Gordan Woodbury Acting Secretary of the Navy under President Wilson. | ||||
| Warren Harding | 1921-1923 | 15 August 1921 | Henry A. Wiley | Rear Admiral |
| 15 December 1921 | Chester W. Nimitz | Commander | ||
| 25 January 1922 | Julius F. Hellweg | Captain | ||
| 27 September 1922 | Harold Bemis | Commander | ||
| Calvin Coolidge | 1923-1929 | 4 March 1924 | Arleigh Burke | Ensign |
| 1 February 1926 | Frank P. Thomas | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| 25 December 1927 | Chester W. Nimitz | Captain | ||
| ** 31 December 1930 | Arleigh Burke | Lieutenant | ||
| ** Signed By Curtis D. Wilber Secretary of the Navy Under President Coolidge | ||||
| Herbert Hoover | 1929-1933 | 31 December 1930 | Arleigh A. Burke | Lieutenant |
| Franklin Roosevelt | 1933-1945 | 12 February 1934 | Harold Bemis | Captain |
| ** 26 August 1935 | Frank P. Thomas | Commander | ||
| ** Signed by H .L. Roosevelt, Acting Secretary of the Navy Under President Roosevelt | ||||
| 19 January 1939 | Chester W. Nimitz | Rear Admiral | ||
| 23 January 1939 | Arleigh A. Burke | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| ** 21 April 1942 | Frank P. Thomas | Captain | ||
| ** Signed by Henry Knox, Secretary of the Navy Under President Roosevelt | ||||
| 14 January 1942 | Chester W. Nimitz | Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet | ||
| 16 February 1943 | Arleigh A. Burke | Commander | ||
| 19 May 1944 | Chester W. Nimitz | Admiral (temporary) | ||
| 10 December 1944 | Chester W. Nimitz | Fleet Admiral (temporary) | ||
| Harry Truman | 1945-1953 | 2 April 1946 | Chester W. Nimitz | Fleet Admiral (Permanent) |
| Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | 12 August 1959 | Arleigh Burke | Chief of Naval Operations |
Note: Most Commissioning Certificates are located in the manuscript collection map case, drawer number seven. Others are shelved under individual personal names such as Captain Kidder Breese, Chief Engineer William Wood, and Admirals Arleigh Burke and Chester W. Nimitz.
Published: Mon Jul 28 09:44:50 EDT 2014
