David Watson Taylor (4 March 1864 – 28 July 1940) was an engineer of the United States Navy. He was best known as the man who constructed the first experimental towing tank ever built in the United States. March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... A ship model basin may be either a physical basin or tank used to carry out hydrodynamic tests with ship models, or the organization (often a company) that owns and operates such a facility. ...

Taylor was born in Louisa County, Va. He entered the United States Naval Academy after graduating from Randolph-Macon College in 1881. He graduated from the Academy in 1885 at the head of his class, setting a scholarship record. He was sent to Greenwich, England in 1885 and received the highest honors of the Royal Naval College in 1888, again setting a record. Louisa County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner (D) Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Teamwork: Fourth Class Midshipmen lock arms and use ropes made from uniform items as they brace themselves climbing the Herndon Monument The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is located in Annapolis, Maryland. ... Randolph-Macon College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college located in Ashland, Virginia, near Richmond. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Greenwich (pronounced gren-itch , or by the locals) is a town, now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the river Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... Crest on the gate of the Royal Naval College The Royal Naval College was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, in the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site in London, United Kingdom. ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

In August 1886, Taylor was appointed an assistant naval constructor. Early in his naval career he served on various stations and in 1909 acted as chief of the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair. He was the first American honored by award of a gold medal of the British Institute of Naval Architecture. In 1898 he constructed and had charge of the first experimental tank for models of war vessels built in the United States. He was connected with boards dealing with hull changes of naval vessels. After the Titanic disaster, he was assigned to investigate the problem of making ships more seaworthy through better hull construction. On this duty, he served under the Secretary of Commerce and took a leading part in the International Conference on Safety at Sea, which grew out of the Titanic sinking. 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The New York Herald reports the disaster. ... The office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the mid-20th century. ...

He became chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, with the rank of Rear Admiral on 14 December 1914, and served through World War I as Chief Constructor of the Navy. Taylor's active interest in aviation was stimulated by his appointment as a representative of the government on the National Research Council in 1916. In January, 1917, he was senior member of the Joint Army and Navy Technical Board for Design and Construction of a Zeppelin-type airship. Through the World War, Taylor supervised the creation of numbers of new ships for naval service. For this work the Navy bestowed upon him the Distinguished Service Medal, with the citation: "For exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair." The French government made him a Commander of the Legion of Honor. The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... -1... 1916 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... LZ127 Graf Zeppelin, the most travelled airship in history A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship (or dirigible) pioneered by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century based on an earlier design by David Schwarz. ... Akron in flight, 2 November 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is an award of the United States Navy and United States Marines which was first created in 1919. ... French Legion of Honour The Légion dhonneur (Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ...

Rear Admiral Taylor also aided in the development of the NC-type flying boat, the first aircraft to make a transatlantic flight. The Curtiss NC (Navy Curtiss, nicknamed Nancy boat or Nancy) was a flying boat used by the United States Navy from 1918 through the early 1920s. ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... TransAtlantic were a progressive rock supergroup formed in 2000 by vocalist/keyboardist Neal Morse of Spocks Beard and drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. ...

After his retirement from service, Taylor served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Aeronautical Inventions and Designs of the National Advisory Committee from its organization in March 1927. He was made chairman of the Subcommittee on Aerodynamics later that year. Long recognized as an international authority on naval architecture and marine engineering. Taylor applied the principles of hydrodynamics to the problem of aerodynamics. Following this new field of aviation, Taylor became one of the foremost authorities in the world in aerodynamics. He specialized on problems connected with the design of aircraft propellers and of seaplane floats and flying-boat hulls. 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Naval architects design safe, useful or beautiful ships and boats for their clients. ... Marine Engineers operate and maintain the propulsion and electrical generation systems onboard ships. ... Hydrodynamics is fluid dynamics applied to liquids, such as water, alcohol, oil, and blood. ... Aerodynamics is a branch of fluid dynamics concerned with the study of gas flows, first analysed by George Cayley in the 1800s. ...

In 1931, Taylor was awarded the John Fritz Medal, the highest honor of the American engineering profession, "for outstanding achievement in marine architecture, for revolutionary results of persistent research in hull design, for improvements in many types of warships and for distinguished service as chief constructor for the United States Navy during the World War." 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Shortly before his death, Taylor was appreciatively honored by the Navy R&D community. The new model basin constructed at Carderock, finest of its kind in the world, was dedicated as the David Taylor Model Basin in his presence in 1939. The Model Basin retains his name as a living memorial to this distinguished naval architect and marine engineer. Taylor died in Washington, D.C., 28 July 1940. The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world. ... Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C., Washington, the Nations Capital, or the District, and historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United States of America, and as such, the word Washington is often used as a... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ...

In 1942, the destroyer David W. Taylor (DD-551) was named in his honor. This article is about the year. ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and manouverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ...

Taylor Award

The Navy's David W. Taylor Award recognizes outstanding scientific achievement. It will be awarded for a contribution to the development of future maritime systems through the creation of technology based upon research.

External links

• Navy PAO biography of David Taylor
• DANFS biography of David Taylor
• David Taylor Model Basin