George Fried

George Fried, (August 10, 1877 – July 25, 1949) a sea captain with service in both the U.S. Navy and Merchant Marine, is best remembered for his valiant rescue of the crews of the British steamship Antinoe in 1926 while captaining the luxury liner SS President Roosevelt and three years later the Italian freighter Florida while in command of the luxury liner USS America. Both of the ships he captained during the rescues were owned by the large United States Lines. Fried became familiar to thousands of Americans when his syndicated column "My Thirty Years at Sea", which chronicled his life and ocean adventures, was featured in major newspapers beginning in 1929.

Early life

Fried was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on August 10, 1877, and attended the Belmont and Dix Street Schools. He worked on a local farm from ages twelve to fifteen, harvesting beets and corn, but from an early age had a desire to sail the seas. He entered Army service at the age of twenty-one during the period of the Spanish–American War and served from 1898 to 1900.

Early naval career

After his brief stint with the Army, Fried enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1900 in New York. His first naval assignment was with the historic USS Hartford, a 255-foot steam and sail-powered sloop of war, which had seen service in the Civil War. As a fledgling U.S. Naval seaman, he began service swabbing the Hartford's decks, working the coalroom, and trimming sails.

During many of the summers from 1900 to 1912, the Hartford took U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen on a cruise to gain hands on experience with essential seafaring skills.