Howell, John Adams

Howell, John Adams, 1840–1918, American naval officer and inventor, b. Bath, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1858. He served as a lieutenant throughout the Civil War, fighting under Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay (1864). In the Spanish-American War he commanded a squadron of the North Atlantic Fleet and was promoted (1898) to rear admiral. Howell originated the gyroscopic steering torpedo, invented a flywheel torpedo, and developed torpedo-launching apparatus.