Captain Michael A. Healy

In 1997, we honored Captain Michael A. Healy (1839-1904). He was a career officer with the United States Revenue Cutter Service (predecessor of the United States Coast Guard), reaching the rank of captain. He commanded several vessels within the territory of the Alaskan coastline. Captain Healy was the first black to become Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer and was a commissioned Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Healy patrolled the 20,000 miles of Alaskan coastline for more than 20 years, earning great respect from the natives and seafarers alike. After commercial fishing had depleted the whale and seal populations, his assistance with the introduction of Siberian reindeer helped prevent starvation among the native Alaskans. The author Jack London was inspired by Healy's command of the renowned USRC Bear. It was a thick wooden hulled, steam-and-sail powered proto-icebreaker, which had been put into service as a cutter, in 1884.

Nicknamed "Hell Roaring Mike," Healy was the fifth of 10 children of the Healy family of Georgia, known for their achievements in the North after being born into slavery. Their parents were an Irish-born planter and his African-American mixed-race slave, with whom he had a common-law marriage. His father arranged for the children to be formally educated at boarding schools in the North, and they identified as Irish Catholics. Healy has also been recognized since the late 20th century as the first man of African-American descent to command a ship of the United States government. The USCGC Healy, commissioned in 1999, was named in his honor.