Carl Townsend Osburn (May 5, 1884 – December 28, 1966) was an United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 and sports

Shooting sports

A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...

 shooter

Shooting

Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...

 from Jacksontown, Ohio

Jacksontown, Ohio

Jacksontown is an unincorporated community in central Licking Township, Licking County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43030. It lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 40 with State Route 13....

. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1907, Osburn went on to reach the rank of commander. He competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics

Shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics

At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, 18 events in shooting were contested.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:A total of 283 sport shooters from 16 nations competed at the Stockholm Games:-Medal table:...

, 1920 Summer Olympics

Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics

At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, 21 events in shooting were contested. The competitions were held from July 22, 1920 to August 3, 1920.-Medal summary:-Medal table:...

, and 1924 Summer Olympics

Shooting at the 1924 Summer Olympics

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, ten events in shooting were contested. These would be the last Games in which team events were part of the Olympic shooting program...

, winning a total of eleven Olympic medals: five gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals. Prior to Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...

, his tally of eleven medals made him the all-time leading male medal winner for the United States at the Olympic Games.

Military History

Admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy as a midshipman on August 1, 1903, graduating No. 85 in the Class of 1907. He was assigned for his sea service as a midshipman on board USS Rhode Island (BB-17) from October 12, 1906 to June 1908. He was subsequently assigned to USS Castine, a gunboat serving as a submarine tender, from October 4, 1908 to May 1909, seeing service along the Atlantic coast. During operations off Cuba in 1908, he earned the right to wear the Cuban Pacification Medal. Osburn was commissioned an Ensign on February 12, 1909. Additionally, in 1909. Continuing his sea duty, Osburn was assigned on October 2, 1909, to USS Mississippi (BB-23), seeing service off the coast of New England until January 1910. Promoted to Lieutenant (j. g.) on February 12, 1912, Osburn was detailed in April from Mississippi to participate from June to July in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, where he competed in rifle marksmanship. Osburn then embarked on another tour of duty at sea, this time in USS Des Moines (C-15), a cruiser, beginning on September 12, 1912, and lasting until June 1913. From September 22, 1913, until April 1915, Osburn saw shore duty at the U.S. Naval Academy, and then on May 13, 1915, returned to sea duty on board the presidential yacht USS Mayflower (PY-1), being promoted to Lieutenant on July 29, 1915. He received promotion to the permanent rank of Lieutenant Commander on July 1, 1919. Osburn took command of USS Schenck (DD-159), a recently commissioned vessel of wartime construction, and conducted patrols in the Caribbean until September 1921, when he was assigned to USS Relief (AH-1). On December 18, 1922, Osburn was assigned as the Naval Inspector of Ordnance at the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company in Rochester, New York, remaining there until March 1925. On April 14, 1925, Osburn took command of the newly re-commissioned USS Dallas (DD-199), which lasted until June 1927. Returning to shore duty on January 20, 1932, with the Bureau of Navigation, Osburn received his promotion to Captain on October 1, 1933. He then returned to sea on July 27, 1934, in command of USS Henderson (AP-1), a billet which he held until June 1936. On June 30, 1936, Osburn returned to shore duty with the 12th Naval District in San Francisco. In 1937 he was made the Director, Naval Reserves, for the 12th Naval District.

Personal History

He was born in Jacksontown, Ohio

Jacksontown, Ohio

Jacksontown is an unincorporated community in central Licking Township, Licking County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43030. It lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 40 with State Route 13....

 and died in Saint Helena, California.

On July 1, 1939, he retired and settled with his wife, Mary, in the Napa Valley, at St. Helena, California, where he passed away on December 28, 1966.

Osburn’s collection of medals, trophies and memorabilia were donated to the Naval Historical Foundation

Naval Historical Foundation

The Naval Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1926, has a broad mission to preserve and promote the naval history of the United States by supporting official Sea Services programs and institutions, meeting the needs of the public for naval history, and collecting historical...

in 1967 by his widow, Mary Osburn. These artifacts are now in the custody of the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Curatorial Management Branch.

Other Awards

Osburn was inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame in 1994 where he is listed as being one of the country's nine greatest marksmen.