Biographical note
Fitzhugh Green was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on August 16, 1888. He was the son of Charles Edward Green, a cotton broker, and Isabelle Fitzhugh Perryman, as well as the grandson of Charles Green, an Englishman who settled in Savannah, Georgia, in 1840. Young Fitzhugh Green received his early education in the public schools of his home town. He later attended and was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1909. He then received an M.S. degree from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., in 1913. After the requisite two years of sea duty, Green was commissioned an ensign (1911). From 1912-1913, he was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance, and over the following years was eventually promoted to commander (March 1927). In 1913, Green requested and was granted permission by the Navy Department to join the expedition led by the explorer Donald B. MacMillan, in search of and to explore Crocker Land and other unknown areas of the Arctic. He did not return to U.S. shores until 1916. After his return from the Arctic, Green became aide and flag lieutenant to Admiral Thomas Rogers, and was on duty in European waters during World War One. Green was appointed officer in charge of ordnance proving and testing, in 1919, at the Naval Proving Grounds, Indian Head, Maryland. Two years later, he was detailed as gunnery officer of the USS 'Texas,' and in 1924, was graduated from the Naval War College. During his attendance at the War College, Green was also aide to the college president. After graduation, Green was attached to the Office of Naval Intelligence in New York, until 1927 when he retired from the Navy. In 1940, Green was recommissioned by the Navy as a lieutenant commander, and assigned to duty with the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, D.C. In May 1942, he was transferred to the South Pacific as operational intelligence officer on the staff of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, and took part in the preparation and execution of the Guadacanal Campaign. On July 19, 1942, Green was assigned to the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Besides his career in the Navy, Lt. Com. Green was also a prolific writer. In addition to authoring numerous books of his own, he ghost wrote for many famous individuals such as aviators Charles A. Lindbergh and Richard E. Byrd, and the explorer and photographer of wild animals, Martin Johnson. Green also contributed many articles to periodicals and was a popular lecturer, particularly concerning his Arctic experiences during the Crocker Land Expedition of 1913 through 1916. He was a technical film director for Richard Barthelmess in 1925; managing editor of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service from 1925 to 1926; and a member of the editorial staff and assistant to the president of the George Putnam Publishing Company from 1927 to 1929. Green was also an active member of numerous associations including the American Geographical Society of which he was fellow; Phi Lambda Epsilon and Phi Sigma Kappa societies; the Explorers and Army & Navy clubs of Washington, D.C. and New York City; and the Appawamis Club of Rye, New York.
His religious affiliation was Episcopalian; his favorite sports recreations were golf and fishing. Lt. Com. Green was married twice: first, to Natalie Wheeler on November 27 1916, in Philadelphia; and then, to Margery Durant Campbell Daniels on November 15, 1933. Ms. Wheeler was the daughter of Richard McCall Elliot, a business executive of Philadelphia. They had three children: Fitzhugh, Jr.; Elisabeth Farnum, who married Richard Hooker Wilmer; and Richard Elliot Green. Green and Wheeler divorced in later years. Ms. Durant, was the daughter of the automobile manufacturer William Crapo Durant. She had been married earlier, first to Edwin R. Campbell, and then to Robert Daniels. Lt. Com. Fitzhugh Green died on December 1947, in Danbury, Connecticut. Books by Fitzhugh Green include: Arctic Duty (1917); Clear the Decks (1919); Won for the Fleet (1921); The Mystery of the Erik (1923); ZR Wins (1924); Midshipmen All, Fought for Annapolis, and Our Naval Heritage (1925); Uncle Sam's Sailors, History of the American Navy, Hold 'em Navy, The Life of Robert E. Peary, and I'll Never Move Again (1926); Anchors Aweigh (1927); Famous Sea Fights, in collaboration with H.H. Frost (1927); We, in collaboration with Charles A. Lindbergh (1927); Martin Johnson, Lion Hunter and Dick Byrd, Air Explorer (1928); Bob Bartlett, Master Mariner and The Film Finds Its Tongue (1929).
