Biography:

Naval officer, congressman. Born– August 17, 1870, Greensboro. Parents– James Marcellus and Sarah Croom (Pearson) Hobson. Married– Grizelda Houston Hull, May 25, 1905. Children– Three. Education– Southern University, 1881-1885;  U.S. Naval Academy, graduated 1889; Washington and Jefferson College, M.S., 1889; further study at Ecole National Superieur des Mines; graduate of Ecole d’Application du Genie Maritime, Paris, 1903. Served in U.S. Navy, 1889-1903. During Spanish-American War, participated in expedition against San Juan, Puerto Rico, and with a crew of seven volunteers, sank the ship Merrimac in Santiago Harbor to create an obstruction to the Spanish advance; was captured and spent June-July 1898 as a prisoner in a Spanish fortress. Presidential elector from Alabama, 1904; member, U.S. Congress from 6th Alabama District, 60th through 63rd Congresses, 1907-1915. Supported prohibition, anti-drug laws, and women’s suffrage;  the only Congressman from the Deep South to vote in favor of women’s suffrage in 1915; as a result failed renomination.  Organizer of the International Narcotics Education Association and the World Conference on Narcotics Education. Wrote and spoke all over the country in opposition to alcohol and drugs. For the sinking of the Merrimac, awarded Congressional Medal of Honor. Made rear admiral by act of Congress, 1934. The destroyer USS Hobson was named in his honor.  Died Marrch 16, 1937.

Source:

Marquis who’s who online

Publication(s):

Alcohol and the Human Race for Truth. New York; Fleming H. Revell, 1919.

Buck Jones at Annapolis. New York; D. Appleton, 1907.

In Line of Duty. New York; D. Appleton, 1910.

The Sinking of the “Merrimac.” New York; Century Co., 1899.