1900s
USS Holland (SS-1) was commissioned in 1900; John Philip Holland, pioneer of submarine design, died August 1914.
USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-156) was laid down in July 1918, launched in December, and commissioned the following June. Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott, 25-year member of the House Naval Affairs Committee, died October 1918.
USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20) was laid down in January 1961, and Retired Admiral Richmond K. Turner died in February. The ship was launched in 1963 and commissioned in 1964.
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) was named in 1980; Carl Vinson, former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, died in 1981, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) was named in 1983; Retired Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy”, died in 1986.
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) was named in 1989; Retired Admiral Arleigh Burke, former 3-term CNO, died in 1996. Burke spoke at the ship’s commissioning on July 4, 1991.
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) was named in 1993; John Stennis, former chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, died in 1995, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) was named in 1995; former President Ronald Reagan died in 2004.
USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300) was named in 1997; Bob Hope, veteran of USO shows spanning 50 years, died in 2003.
2000s
Jimmy Carter and a model of the SSN-23
USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) was named in 1998 for former President and submariner, Jimmy Carter.
USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) was named in 2002 for former President and carrier pilot George H. W. Bush.
USS Nitze (DDG-94) was named in April 2004; Paul Nitze, former Secretary of the Navy, died in October 2004, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was named in October 2006; Gerald R. Ford, former President and carrier officer, died December 2006.
USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) was named on November 27, 2006, for Wayne E. Meyer, acclaimed as the “father” of the Aegis combat system. Meyer died in September 2009 a few weeks before the ship was commissioned.
USS John Warner (SSN-785) was named on January 8, 2009, five days after John Warner, former Secretary of the Navy, retired from the U.S. Senate.[1
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) was the first ship to have its namesake present at the christening, commissioning, and to ride the ship.
A ship named after an ex husband of Elizabeth Taylor and ex boyfriend of Barbara Walters. 'Tis a shame what our once proud Navy has been reduced to.
Good history Buc. Thanks very much. I guess the Carl Vinson was the first named for a live politician.