Mildred Helen McAfee Horton (May 12, 1900 - September 2, 1994) was the first director of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the United States Navy. She was born in Parkville, Missouri. May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... A WAVES Photographer 3rd Class The WAVES were a World War II era division of the U.S. Navy that consisted entirely of women. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Parkville is a city located in Platte County, Missouri. ...

She graduated from Vassar College and received her Master's degree from the University of Chicago. In 1936 she became president of Wellesley College. Closeup of the Vassar Main Building Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college situated in Poughkeepsie, NY. Formerly a womens college, Vassar is the only fully co-educational member of the Seven Sisters. ... The University of Chicago is a private co-educational university located in Chicago, Illinois. ... Wellesley College is a womens liberal arts college that opened in 1875, founded by Henry Fowle Durant and his wife Pauline Fowle Durant. ...

During World War II she took a leave of absense from Wellesley to head the newly formed WAVES with a rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve. She was promoted to captain in 1943.

She led a force that numbered more than 80,000 women.

She married Reverend Dr. Douglas Horton (d. 1968), the dean of the divinity school at Harvard University in 1946. Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

After the end of the war, McAfee resigned from the Navy Reserve. She was the first woman to receive the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is an award of the United States Navy and United States Marines which was first created in 1919. ...

McAfee Hall at Wellesley is named in her honor.

She died in Randolph, New Hampshire. Randolph sign, seen when entering Randolph on U.S. Route 2 from the east or west. ...