New-York tribune., 1909-09-25
TURNS OUT HUGE SHIPS
NIXON'S UNUSUAL CAREER
Virginia Mountain Lad Has Become
Great Naval Constructor.

/ so much caught hectlng glimpse o. the
great ships that go down to the seat Is one
Of the curious accomplishments of destiny that
Lewis Nixon. descended from generations Of
landsmen should eventually develop into not
only the leading naval constructor Of this coun-
try but should become builder OF uayies t1V
foreign powers.
1t is also an anomaly Ch1rac cteristiCaly Auert-
can that this same countryb bred boy should IN
a few brief years and by his own efforts become
a naval cadet at Annapolis. and still a little
later a fellow student with the now Prince OF
Wales at the Royal Naval College. Greenwich
England. and that ne should day become
the confidential adviser of princes and poten-
tatcs and an associate Of kings and eupcrors.
only an American could have done all this in
so short u time. and probably only Lewis Nixon
could have accomplished what he has He was
born in Lcesburg Loud1un County, Va, at
the beginning OF the civil War. in ISL Like
the vast majority of Southerners the Nixon
family was seriously Impoverished by the four
years conflict and young Nixon who later
TO he the personal guest of the Car Of Russia
knew in his boy hood no more extrayasant form
of amusement than country life affords AZ this
critical period in Virginia the possibilities for
young men far from encouraging
and il is doubtful whether any OF the fourteen
hundred inhabitants of Lresburg could have
| remotely conceived VI little Lew Nixon As one
Il
received in special audience 10y His Holiness the
Pope.
/ Mr. NiXon's education began in the public
school at Leeshurg. Laser he entered the Lees
burg Academy. At the age Of seventeen. while
at tho academy. he received an appointment As
cadet midshpman at the United states Naval
Academy, Annapolis At Annapolis Lew.
/ Nixon more than Justified his appointment and
/ the record lie made Is a precedent for other
cadets. After his graduation from Anna polls
/ MIR Nixon. 10y special agreement with Great
| Britain. WAS ordered the Royal Naval COL
/ lrgc at Greenwich. He spent three years there
graduating in 1885, While in England Mr.
Nixon spent his vacations visiting and stu,iytn.s
the shipbuilding yards of Europe as we'll as ,he,
gun and armor plate factories
! Upon the completion OF his cours.. In Fms
land he was ordered home to take up duties
in connection with the building and completion
OF the frs. vessels Of the new American navy
at Chester. Penn. the Chicago being the princi-
Ial vessel
MT Nixon was thus placed not only in close
! touch with the building Of war vessels. but ,,,4
/ enabled to obtain insight into the business
management of commercial shipyard at IN
/ carry age From chester he was ordered 10
/ the Navy Department as an assistant 70 the
/ chief constructor of the navy Then ne went tn
| Cramps shiny ards 1t Philadelphia as in,pertor
/ OF war vessels building thert-the Rtltir,or.
/ the Yorktown, the Philadelphia and tht. Ves,t
Nius Then he went To the New York Navy
! Yard where he had charge OF th,. cor,DIati,.
! OF the monltors-the Miantonumoh and thu. Der
| t"r At twenty nine years of age Mr. Nivor
| was ordered from the New York Navy Yard to
washington. where in ninety days he cam,
Pit'ed the plans for the battIeshtps InJ,,n,
Massachusetts and Oregon To do this ,,,.,
| nineteen years ago was a different matter rr,,,,
1 is
| ShpS available: everything had To he ,g,,r,,,,
OUT from the beginning. and yet in tIi, lan.,,, 90.
VI d brilliant officer at meeting of the Instit,,
! OF Naval Architects in 1908 the Oregon ,,,,s.
| has had less TO take back than arv ,thar -,
| sells built"
AT this juncture OF MIR Nixon.s life ba 30
N6"'u from the Navy Department and accepted
d pace with the Cramps who had obtained con-
tracts to build two of thes, vessels os s,,-.,nf-
tending constructor Of the Cramps works
| In 1891 MIR. Nixon married Miss WOOD -
FIorlda' after pretty romance The weddins
| was Il brilliant social affair in WashjpstoD
immediately after the wedding Mr. and Mrs
Nixon moved to Philadelphia. where their home
| NE mas always been of the most charming order
! In 1928 Mr Nixon acquired the Crescent shin
yards. at EliZabethport. on Staten Island So,,nd
| and started shipbuilding for himself tborsb h.
was still retained as consulting naval arcbitoo.
| by the Cramps. going to PHILADELPHIA opca f.,
| week At the Crescent shipyartls which we're
seven years under Mr.. Nixon's ownership e,,ar.
known type of vessel OF Importance was buiIt
! There he built the gunboat Annapolis narna1
atter the city of his alma mater. and many other
vessels ana submarine boats which have proven
to be models for the shipbuilder OF TO-DAY
But II is not in vessels and engines ,Iopa III.