 Thomas B. Howard

Thomas Benton Howard (August 10, 1854 – November 10, 1920) was a United States Navy officer who served as commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet prior to United States' entry into World War I.

Howard was born in the Illinoisan town of Galena in 1854 and was educated in the public schools.In 1868, through President Ulysses S. Grant, who spent the summer of that year in Galena, he was appointed to the US Naval Academy.