Ellyson, Theodore Gordon, 1885-1928

Theodore Gordon Ellyson, the son of Henry Theodore Ellyson and Lizzie (Walker) Ellyson.Commander,pioneer in the submarine force,having qualified in-submarines,1907.He served consecutively at sea aboard the Battleship USS MISSOURI, and as Watch and Division Officer of the armored cruisers USS PENNSYLVANIA, and the USS COLORADO. First United States Naval officer designated an Aviator,1914.

Theodore Gordon Ellyson, the first Naval officer to qualify as an airplane pilot, and distinguished pioneer of US Naval Aviation, was born on February 27, 1885, in Richmond, Virginia.

Appointed Naval Cadet, he entered the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, from the Third District of Virginia in June 1901, and was graduated with the Class of 1905, on January 30, 1905. After the two years at sea, then requited by law before commissioning, he was commissioned Ensign in the US Navy on January 31, 1907, and subsequently advanced as follows: Lieutenant, junior grade, on January 31, 1910; Lieutenant, September 16, 1910;

Theodore Gordon Ellyson, USN (27 February 1885 – 27 February 1928), nicknamed "Spuds", was the first United States Navy officer designated as an aviator ("Naval Aviator No. 1"). Ellyson served in the experimental development of aviation in the years before and after World War I. He also spent several years before the war as part of the Navy's new submarine service. A recipient of the Navy Cross for his antisubmarine service in World War I, Ellyson died in 1928 when his aircraft crashed over the Chesapeake Bay.