William P . Biddle Major General William Phillips Biddle ( December 15 , 1853 – February 24 , 1923 ) was the 11th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps . Biography . William Phillip Biddle was born on December 15 , 1853 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . His family was a part of the prominent Biddle family . He was educated in private schools in the Philadelphia area , by touring and at the University of Pennsylvania , where he joined the prestigious fraternity Delta Psi AKA St . Anthony Hall as did a number of Biddle Family men . Biddle was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps 22 June 1875 and after short tours of duty in Washington , D . C . , New York City and Philadelphia , made the first of his many tours of sea duty on which he passed nearly half of his active service . After three years on the and , 2nd Lt . Biddle again went ashore for duty at Philadelphia and New York . He returned to sea duty on the in March 1882 , and was promoted to first lieutenant in February 1884 . With a break of less than three years at the same stations as his previous shore duty , he again went to sea for three years on the . He returned to Philadelphia for duty in February 1891 , where he was promoted to captain in February 1894 . He resumed sea duty on board the in April 1895 , and was shortly afterwards transferred to the on which he served during the Spanish - American War and participated in the Battle of Manila Bay . Soon after the close of the war , Captain Biddle returned to Philadelphia for duty but was soon called to join the Fourth Battalion of Marines organized for duty in the Far East . With that battalion he arrived in China in time to take part in the famous relief expedition to Peking in 1900 . After the affairs of the Boxer Rebellion had been somewhat adjusted , Capt . Biddle was transferred with his battalion to the First Brigade of Marines , Philippine Islands , where he served a little over two years , and then returned to the United States for duty at Headquarters . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel 23 March 1903 . In December of that year he was sent to Panama in command of the battalion of Marines on the , which arrived in time to participate in affairs when the independence of that country was declared . He returned to the United States soon afterwards and served for short tours of duty in Philadelphia and at Headquarters , Marine Corps . Lieutenant Colonel Biddle was promoted to colonel in February 1905 and during the following year , returned to the Philippine Islands where he commanded the First Brigade of Marines for about two years . He reported for duty at Headquarters in May 1908 , and was soon afterwards detailed in Philadelphia and sent to Panama to reinforce the troops protecting the construction of the Canal , and for potential duty in Nicaragua . He returned to Headquarters in April 1910 , where he continued to serve the remainder of his active duty . During the closing months of Major General Elliott ’ s commandancy , Colonel Biddle acted as Commandant most of the time . Colonel Biddle was chosen as Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 3 February 1911 . Col Biddle ’ s tour of duty as Commandant was a comparatively quiet , short and uneventful one . He concerned himself primarily with the routine affairs of the Corps . Several minor expeditions took place , including the first intervention in Nicaragua . Under his administration , the Advance Base Force , forerunner of today ' s Fleet Marine Force , was also established in December 1913 . After nearly three years in office , Major General Commandant Biddle applied for retirement on the ground of having completed more than thirty years ’ service , and he was retired on 24 February 1914 . He was recalled for active duty during the World War and served primarily on court - martial duty at San Diego , California . Major General Biddle died in Nice , France , on 25 February 1923 and was buried a month later in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors .