Frank E . Beatty Rear Admiral Frank Edmund Beatty ( 26 November 1853 – 16 March 1926 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . Biography . Born in Aztalan , Wisconsin , Beatty graduated with the United States Naval Academy Class of 1875 , and then served at sea in the wooden screw - sloop " Tuscarora " before receiving his ensign ' s commission in 1876 . After service at sea in a succession of ships — " Minnesota " , " Richmond " , " Despatch " , and " Tallapoosa " — between 1878 and 1889 , he completed two tours of duty on shore , first in the Library and War Records Office ( among the predecessor offices of the present Naval Historical Center ) and then participating in the deliberation of the International Marine Conference . In the spring of 1892 , Beatty returned to duty afloat , serving briefly in " Ranger " before being ordered to the monitor " Miantonomoh " . After torpedo instruction , the young officer — by then a lieutenant — served in the dynamite cruiser " Vesuvius " ; and spent the next few years alternating between duty ashore at the Naval Academy and afloat , in " Monongahela " . Reporting to the gunboat " Adams " in the summer of 1897 , he became that ship ' s executive officer in October and served in that capacity until transferred to the monitor " Monterey " in March 1898 . The following spring , Beatty became the executive officer of gunboat " Wheeling " . Shore duty at the Washington Navy Yard preceded a tour in charge of the Department of Yards and Docks in the Navy Department from 13 February 1901 to 21 January 1902 . Two commands followed in succession : first , the nautical school ship " Saratoga " and then " Gloucester " , before he became Commander , Naval Base , Culebra , Puerto Rico , in February 1904 , with additional duty commanding " Gloucester " . After a brief tour first as assistant inspector and later as the inspector of the 9th Light House District , headquartered at Chicago , Illinois , Beatty spent the next decade alternating between ordnance duty ashore and service afloat , commanding in turn the cruiser s and and the battleship . His shore duty included a tour as Assistant Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory , Washington Navy Yard ; one in the Bureau of Ordnance as a member of the board on sights ; and , ultimately , a stint as Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard and Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory . While holding the latter post from 1905 to 1907 , Beatty was instrumental in the development of an electric range finder . Upon attaining flag rank in the spring of 1912 , Beatty became a fleet division commander . Rear Admiral Beatty commanded a succession of Atlantic Fleet divisions — 4th , 1st , and 3d — in 1913 and 1914 . The outbreak of war in Europe in the summer of 1914 found him in command of Division 3 , with his flag in . Detached from that duty in December 1914 , he took up new duties as Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard and of the Norfolk Naval Station on 4 January 1915 . Temporary duty in command of forces engaged in a war game in the spring of 1915 interrupted his tour at Norfolk ; but , he soon returned to his duties there and carried them out until June 1916 . Reporting to the Chief of Naval Operations for " temporary duty in connection with naval districts " in October 1916 , Beatty served briefly as the Commandant , 5th Naval District , before being switched to the 6th Naval District , at Charleston , South Carolina , in February 1917 . He served in that post for the rest of World War I and into 1919 . Detached from all active duty in September 1919 , he retired on 6 October 1919 . Rear Admiral Beatty died at Charleston on 16 March 1926 . He was buried at Section 2 of the Arlington National Cemetery , where he rests among other family members . His son , Frank Edmund Beatty , Jr . , Vice Admiral , United States Navy , is also buried nearby in the same section . Namesakes . Two ships have been named USS " Beatty " for him .