United States Naval Academy in the context of "Matthew C. Perry"

A trident (/ˈtraɪdənt/) is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will be able to dislodge itself if struck badly. On the other hand, they are not so many as to overly reduce the spear's concentration of force for piercing.

The trident is the tool of Poseidon (Greek) or Neptune (Roman) used for the protection of the sea realms, the god of the sea in classical mythology. Other sea deities such as Amphitrite or Triton were also often depicted with a trident in classical art. Later, tridents were used in medieval heraldry, sometimes held by a merman or triton. In Hinduism, it is the weapon of Shiva and is known as a trishula (Sanskrit for "triple-spear"). It is also associated with the superhero Aquaman. The trident is an important military (especially naval) symbol as an element for forces such as Hellenic Navy, United States Navy SEALs, United States Naval Academy, Cyprus Navy, and Nepali Army. It is included in many logos including the corporate logos of Maserati and Club Med and the athletic logos of Manchester United F.C. and Arizona State University.

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. His craft entered space, but was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10), which was planned as a three-day mission. He named Mercury Spacecraft 15B Freedom 7 II in honor of his first spacecraft, but the mission was canceled.

USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. The name "Constitution" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March or May for the frigates that were to be constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Constitution is most noted for her actions during the War of 1812 with the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous British merchantmen and five warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. The capture of Guerriere earned her the nickname "Old Ironsides", adding on the public adoration that had repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and she circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy. She carried American artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878.

George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels.

During his tenure as U.S. secretary of the Navy, he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He was a senior American diplomat in Europe, leading diplomatic missions to Britain and Germany. Among his best-known writings is the magisterial series, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent.

Fort Severn, in present-day Annapolis, Maryland, was built in 1808 on the same site as an earlier American Revolutionary War fort of 1776. Although intended to guard Annapolis harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, it never saw action. The United States Navy acquired Fort Severn and two other military bases from the United States Army on 19 October 1845, for the purpose of housing the new onshore United States Naval Academy. The academy used the structure for classrooms until its demolition in 1909.

Naval Square is a gated community within the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. It continued as a retirement home for sailors and marines and was called the Naval Home until 1976, when the facility was relocated to Mississippi.

According to the Office of Housing and Community Development, the neighborhood became official, as the three independent parties, the city of Philadelphia (Office of Housing and Community Development), the OHNP (Office of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation), and Toll Brothers worked to bring the historic location to prominence. The Philadelphia Inquirer said that the neighborhood, considered a condo development, succeeded in bucking "the trend with what buyers cited as a combination of location, security, and newness." Prices for houses ranged from $300,000 to $900,000, with 618 units built.

Plebe Summer is the summer training program which is required of all incoming freshmen to the United States Naval Academy. The program lasts approximately seven weeks and consists of rigorous physical and mental training. The stated purpose of Plebe Summer according to the Academy is to "turn civilians into midshipmen".