How Did John P Holland Influence The Military

Military leaders do not necessarily have to come from combat or even been in the military. They just needed to have made a change in the way that warfare is done and made a difference to the men, and later women, in the military. One such man was John P. Holland. He is widely considered the Father of the Modern Submarine and I consider him influential because he made a major impact on the way that battles at sea are fought.
Holland was born in Ireland where he grew up and worked as a teacher, later immigrating to the United States in 1873. He found employment at an engineering firm and again as a teacher at St. John’s Catholic School. His inspiration for the submarine was in his reading of the battle between the ironclads Monitor and Merrimack in the Civil War. From his readings he reasoned that the ideal way to defeat such a ship was to attack it from below the waterline. This base idea lead to the creation of the modern submarine and more technological advances in this new weapons platform. The development of a military submarine …show more content…
Instead, Holland had to receive funding from the Fenians, a group that wanted Ireland independent from British rule, to develop a submarine to use against the British. With the funding, Holland was able to work full time on his submarine project and developed the Fenian Ram, launched in 1881. Although Holland’s submarine received positive press, passed inspections, and received the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, the United States did not The U.S. Navy did not purchase a submarine until March 1900 for $150000, half the cost of production. The Holland No. 6, commissioned on October 12, 1900 as the USS Holland, became the first submarine to enter the United States Navy. Holland sold his designs to the British navy and build submarines for the Japanese as