South Africa," and "The Problem of Asia," in 1900. Beside these, he had published two or three earlier books; and he has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles.
On June 20, 1894, Oxford university conferred on him the honorary degree of D.C.L. On June 18 of the same year, Cambridge university, England, gave him the degree of LL.D. Professor J. E. Sandys, the orator of the occasion, in his address of welcome, pronounced in Latin, said in part: "We greet a citizen of a very great Republic, a man deeply versed in the science and history of naval warfare, who by a series of literary works of a high order has well shown how great an influence the control of the sea has exerted in the history of great nations. While we read the writings of such a man, adorned with a lucid style, the image of our own naval glory rises in splendor before our eyes, as if from the waves themselves, and we gladly reach our hands across the ocean, no longer a dividing barrier, in friendship which we hope will last forever. We present to you a man endeared to Britons by close ties, an ornament to the American navy, Captain A. T. Mahan."
But grateful as is this recognition by England of the work of Captain Mahan, it is on our own American national life that his books have made the most profound practical impression. No one can doubt that the readiness with which congress has voted and the people have approved large and increasing appropriations for our navy, is in large part due to the effect, upon thoughtful Americans, of the masterly books of Captain Mahan, upon "Sea-Power" for peace and progress. The author of these books has won for himself a high place in the esteem and love of his fellow-countrymen, as well as in the admiration of the civilized world.
He has received the degree of LL.D. from Harvard, 1895; Yale, 1897; McGill university, Canada, 1900, and Columbia university, 1900.
Captain Mahan says his first impulse to write came to him "through a request to prepare a course of lectures on naval history for the United States Naval War college." And, he adds: "Among human instrumentalities, I presume early home life has been the most powerful influence on my life." His own choice led him into the navy. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. He belongs to the Century Association, and to the University club and the Church club of New York city.
