Captain Arthur MacArthur, III

How are you related to Captain Arthur MacArthur, III?

Connect to the World Family Tree to find out

Captain Arthur MacArthur, III's Geni Profile

Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love

  • Build your family tree online
  • Share photos and videos
  • Smart Matching™ technology
  • Free!

Captain Arthur MacArthur, III

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Death: December 02, 1923 (47)
Washington, District of Columbia, DC, United States (appendicitis)
Place of Burial: 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, 22211, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and Mary Pinkney MacArthur
Husband of Mary Hendry MacArthur
Father of Arthur MacArthur; Bowman McCalla MacArthur; Douglas MacArthur II, U.S. Ambassador; Mary Elizabeth Symington and Malcolm MacArthur
Brother of Malcom MacArthur and Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Occupation: Captain
Managed by: Gene Daniell
Last Updated:

About Captain Arthur MacArthur, III

Captain Arthur MacArthur III

Captain Arthur MacArthur III was a United States Navy officer, whose active-duty career extended from the Spanish-American War through World War I. He was the elder brother of General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964).

The son of United States Army Lt. General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. (1845–1912), he chose a career in the Navy instead of following his father, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1896.

During the Spanish-American War, Ensign MacArthur served aboard the steam yacht USS Vixen (PY-4) in the Battle of Santiago. He later participated in naval operations during the Philippine-American War and the Boxer Rebellion.

In 1901, he married Mary H. McCalla (1877–1959), the daughter of Rear Admiral Bowman H. McCalla. They had five children, Arthur (who died young), Bowman McCalla, Douglas (named in honor of his brother), Mary Elizabeth, Malcolm.

MacArthur commanded submarine USS Grampus (SS-4), destroyer USS McCall (DD-28), minelayer USS San Francisco (CM-2), armored cruiser USS South Dakota (ACR-9) and light cruiser USS Chattanooga (CL-18). For distinguished work in protecting convoys from U-boats engaged in the Atlantic U-boat Campaign during 1918, he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal and was promoted to Captain.

Captain MacArthur died in Washington, D.C. of appendicitis in 1923, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery near his parents.



Arthur MacArthur III was a United States Navy officer, whose active-duty career extended from the Spanish–American War through World War I. He was the elder brother of General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964).

Biography The son of United States Army General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. (1845–1912), he chose a career in the Navy instead of following his father, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1896.

During the Spanish–American War, Ensign MacArthur served aboard the steam yacht USS Vixen (PY-4) in the Battle of Santiago. He later participated in naval operations during the Philippine–American War and the Boxer Rebellion.

On August 21, 1902, in Newport, Rhode Island, he married Mary Hendry McCalla (1877–1959), the daughter of Rear Admiral Bowman H. McCalla. His brother Douglas, a Cadet at the United States Military Academy at the time, was his best man. Arthur and Mary MacArthur had five children, Arthur (1904–1912), Bowman McCalla, Douglas (named in honor of his brother), Mary Elizabeth, and Malcolm (who died while attending the Naval Academy in 1933).

From 1901 to 1903, MacArthur commanded the torpedo boat Winslow. While in this capacity, he was involved in early submarine boat testing. While also commanding the USS Holland, he participated in Electric Boat's testing using their prototype Fulton, as a testbed for the Plunger-class submarines. In November 1901, he was aboard the Fulton when it set an underwater endurance record of 15 hours on the bottom of Peconic Bay, New York.

Later, he was injured when, on a run from New Suffolk, New York to Washington, D.C. to exhibit the submarine to naval committees of the House and Senate, the Fulton experienced a battery explosion off the Delaware Breakwater. By June 1903, he was at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in command of the submarine flotilla consisting of the Pike and Grampus.

He was transferred to the battleship Ohio prior to her commissioning in October 1904, making him a plank owner,[ and served aboard her until September 1906, when he was transferred to the United States Naval Academy. At the Naval Academy, he served initially as aide to the Superintendent, Admiral James H. Sands and subsequently on the staff for the Commandant of Midshipman. His other commands included destroyer USS McCall (DD-28), minelayer USS San Francisco (CM-2), armored cruiser USS South Dakota (ACR-9) and light cruiser USS Chattanooga (CL-18).

For distinguished service in protecting convoys from U-boats engaged in the Atlantic U-boat Campaign during 1918, he was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal. He was promoted to captain on January 1, 1921. MacArthur was a hereditary member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States by right of his father's having served as a Union officer in the Civil War. Captain MacArthur died in Washington, D.C. of appendicitis in 1923, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery near his parents.

Awards Navy Cross Navy Distinguished Service Medal Sampson Medal Spanish Campaign Medal China Campaign Medal Philippine Campaign Medal World War I Victory Medal

view all

Captain Arthur MacArthur, III's Timeline

1876
June 1, 1876
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
1903
1903
1907
August 17, 1907
1909
1909
Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States
1913
February 20, 1913
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, United States
1914
December 14, 1914
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, United States
1923
December 2, 1923
Age 47
Washington, District of Columbia, DC, United States
????
Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, 22211, United States