Wat Tyler Cluverius Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Rear Admiral Wat Tyler Cluverius Jr. | |
| Born | 25 December 1874 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Died | 28 October 1952 (aged 77) New Haven, Connecticut |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1896–1939, 1942–1945 |
| Rank |  Rear Admiral |
| Commands | Fourth Naval District Ninth Naval District USS West Virginia USS Seattle USS Baltimore USS Shawmut USS Dubuque USS Sandoval USS Alvarado USS Talbot |
| Battles / wars | Spanish–American War Philippine–American War Mexican Revolution World War I World War II |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Honor (France) Order of Leopold (Belgium) Order of St. Olav (Norway) |
| Relations | William Thomas Sampson (father in law) William S. Parsons (son in law) Wat T. Cluverius IV (grandson) |
Wat Tyler Cluverius Jr. (12 December 1874 – 28 October 1952) was an admiral in the United States Navy and president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. When he died, he was the last surviving officer of the sinking of USS Maine.
An 1896 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Cluverius joined the crew of USS Maine in 1897 and was on board when the ship suffered an explosion in Havana Harbor in 1898. The sinking of Maine helped precipitate the Spanish–American War, a war in which Cluverius participated on a number of ships including USS Scorpion. During the Philippine–American War he served on the USS Solace. In 1914, he took part in the United States occupation of Veracruz, commanding a battalion of bluejackets from the battleship USS North Dakota. During World War I he commanded the minelayer USS Shawmut, laying the anti-submarine mine barrage across the North Sea, for which he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
Cluverius was Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy from 1919 to 1921, and attended the Naval War College from 1921 to 1922. He was aide to the Secretary of the Navy, Curtis D. Wilbur. Promoted to flag rank in 1928, he was Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard from 1928 to 1930, commanded Battleship Division Two the Scouting Fleet from June to November 1930, and was chief of staff to the Commander in Chief United States Fleet. He was commandant of the Ninth Naval District and the Fourth Naval District before retiring from the Navy on 1 January 1939. In retirement, Cluverius became president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but returned to active duty during World War II as secretary of the Naval office of Public Information and as a member of the Navy Board of Production Awards. In this capacity he was involved in the conferring of Army-Navy "E" Awards.