Naval History and Heritage Command

President Theodore Roosevelt issues an Executive Order placing Midway Islands under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department due to recurring complaints of Japanese squatters and poachers.

Ship Fitter First Class George H. Wheeler and Boatswains Mate William H. Gowan display bravery and extraordinary heroism while fighting a fire and keeping it from spreading in Coquimbo, Chile. For their actions on this occasion, both men are awarded the Medal of Honor.

The aviation unit from Annapolis, Md., under Lt. John H. Towers, as Officer in Charge, arrived at Pensacola, Fla., to set up a flying school.

USS Brennan (DE 13) is commissioned. Originally launched as British destroyer escort Bentinck (BDE-13), she is reallocated to the United States and serves as a training ship in the Miami, Fla., area for student officers and prospective crews of destroyer escorts.

USS Batfish (SS 310) and USS Gar (SS 206) attack Japanese convoys and sink transport Hidaka Maru south of Shiono Misaki and army cargo ship Koyo Maru about 50 miles south-southwest of Palau.

By a 98-1 vote, the Senate confirms retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to be the 26th secretary of defense. He is sworn in shortly afterward.  Mattis is the first retired general officer to hold the position since General of the Army George C. Marshall in the early 1950s.