Electric Boat Company records

The Electric Boat Company was founded in 1899 by Issac Rice to build submarine designs created by John Phillip Holland.

Irvin Van Gorder Gillis, son of Commodore James Henry Gillis, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1875 while his father was in command of U.S.S. Michigan, stationed at that port. A member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1894, the younger Gillis served aboard U.S.S. Porter (Torpedo boat : TB-6) leading up to and during the Spanish-American War.

After the war, Gillis was ordered to duty aboard U.S.S. Annapolis (Gunboat : PG-10) as Chief Navigator and Engineer. The Annapolis, which was deployed to Asian waters, arrived at Cavite on April 24, 1901. Following his service with Annapolis and two other vessels, Gillis served as Naval Attaché to Tokyo from 1904 to 1905, and subsequently as Naval Attaché to Beijing from 1907 to 1908. In 1909, he served as an observer of the Russo-Japanese War, and was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese Government. From 1911 to 1914, Gillis returned to attaché duty as Assistant Naval Attaché to Peking and Tokyo, during which time he also began a working relationship with Bethlehem Steel.

On July 1, 1914, I.V. Gillis retired from the U.S. Navy to work as a representative for the Electric Boat Company and Bethlehem Steel in China. With America's impending entrance into World War I, Gillis was recommissioned in the U.S. Navy to serve as Naval Attaché in Beijing in 1917. Late in 1919, Gillis retired once again to work in the private sector in China as a representative for various American shipbuilders and manufacturers. He also served in an advisory capacity to the Chinese Cabinet Office, Ministry of the Navy, Ministry of Communications, and the Coast Guard Administration. In addition to this work, Gillis also served as a book purchasing agent for Guion Moore Gest, whose book collection went on to form the backbone of Princeton University's East Asian Library.

Irvin Van Gorder Gillis died on September 2, 1948 in Beijing, China.

Details in the biographical note are from the James H. and I. V. Gillis Naval Papers at the Nimitz Library Special Collections & Archives at the United States Naval Academy.