Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske (June 13, 1854 – April 6, 1942) was an officer in the United States Navy who was noted as a technical innovator. During his long career, Fiske invented more than a hundred and thirty electrical and mechanical devices, with both naval and civilian uses, and wrote extensively on technical and professional issues; The New Yorker called him "one of the notable naval inventors of all time." One of the earliest to understand the revolutionary possibilities of naval aviation, he wrote a number of books of important effect in gaining a wider understanding of the modern Navy by the public. For inventing the rangefinder, he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1891.
Early life and career
Fiske was born in Lyons, New York on 13 June 1854 to Rev. William Allen Fiske and Susan Mathews (Bradley) Fiske. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from the State of Ohio in 1870, graduating four years later and receiving his commission as an Ensign in July 1875.
His early service years included duty as an officer on board the steam sloops-of-war Pensacola and Plymouth, both on the Pacific Station, and the paddle steamer Powhatan in the Atlantic. He also received instruction in the then-young field of torpedo warfare.
Promoted to Master in 1881 and Lieutenant in 1887, during much of that decade he had training ship duty in Saratoga and Minnesota, served in the South Atlantic Squadron on the steam sloop Brooklyn, and was twice assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, D.C.
