thumb|William Chauvenet
William Chauvenet (24 May 1820 in Milford, Pennsylvania – 13 December 1870 in St. Paul, Minnesota) was a professor of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and surveying who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and later the second chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis.
Early life
William Chauvenet was born on a farm near Milford, Pennsylvania to Guillaume Marc Chauvenet, a former soldier of Napoleon's army who reconverted in silk trade after the Emperor's fall, and Mary B. Kerr and was raised in Philadelphia. He entered Yale University at age 16, and graduated in 1840 with high honors. While at Yale, Chauvenet contributed to the school newspaper and was a pianist with the Beethoven Society. He was one of eight founding members of the Skull and Bones Society.
United States Navy
In 1841, he was appointed a professor of mathematics in the United States Navy, and for a while served on the USS Mississippi teaching math. His professorship led Chauvenet to see the necessity of a United States naval academy. While others had proposed the idea, no one had actually seen it through.