one of the 33 founding members of the National Geographic Society. He died in Philadelphia on March 17, 1912, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Melville was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States – a military society of naval officers and their descendants. In 1886, he became a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and served as its commander from 1908 to 1909 and also served as national commander-in-chief of the Order from 1911 to 1912. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and an honorary member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and served as its 18th president. Legacy The U.S. Navy has named two ships in his honor: the destroyer tender and the oceanographic research ship . Melville, Montana was named in his honor in 1877. The Navy's George W. Melville Award recognizes outstanding engineering contributions in the applications of knowledge toward research and development of materials, devices, and systems or methods; including design, development, and integration of prototypes and new processes. The Melville Medal is awarded periodically by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in honor of the best original paper from its transactions. Melville Hall, built in 1937 on the campus of the United States Naval Academy, was used as classroom and laboratory space for the steam and electrical engineering departments. Melville's name lives on as the new hall's Melville Entrance. A statue of Admiral Melville in Navy Park at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was created by Samuel Murray. The Melville Glacier and Melville Land in Greenland were named after him by Robert Peary. Melville was the subject of a portrait painted by Thomas Eakins in 1897. Published works In the Lena Delta; a Narrative of the Search for Lieut.-Commander DeLong and his Companions Followed by an Account of the Greely Relief Expedition and a Proposed Method of Reaching the North Pole, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston, 1885 Views of Commodore George W. Melville, Chief Engineer of the Navy, as to the Strategic and Commercial Value of the Nicaraguan Canal, the Future Control of the Pacific Ocean, the Strategic Value of Hawaii, and its Annexation to the United States, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1898 References Citations Sources External links George Melville Conduct and Letter book Related to the