Henry Lakin Simpson

{{Short description|English-American sailor (1859–1881)}} {{Infobox military person |name = Henry Lakin Simpson |image = |caption = |birth_date = 1859 |death_date = {{death date and age|1881|4|3|1859}} |birth_place = London, England |death_place = Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. |burial_place = Mt. Zion Cemetery, Collingdale, Pennsylvania |burial_label = Place of burial |burial_coordinates =  |allegiance = United States |branch = United States Navy |service_years = |rank = Cadet-Engineer |unit = {{USS|Essex|1876|6}} |battles = |awards = Medal of Honor }} '''Henry Lakin Simpson''' (1859 – April 3, 1881) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He later attended the United States Naval Academy.

Born in London, England, in 1859, Simpson emigrated to the United States and joined the Navy from New York. By October 31, 1877, he was serving as a first class fireman on the {{USS|Essex|1876|6}}, which was at Monrovia, Liberia. On that day, he and another sailor, Ordinary Seaman John Millmore, rescued their shipmate Ordinary Seaman John W. Powers from drowning. For this action, both Simpson and Millmore were awarded the Medal of Honor seven years later, on October 18, 1884.<ref name="citation"/> Simpson's award was posthumous.

Simpson was accepted into the United States Naval Academy as an engineering student (then known as cadet-engineers). He was admitted to the class of 1882, but resigned his appointment on February 28, 1881, before graduating.

On Apr. 3, 1881 at age 21 Simpson died of consumption on board the ''City of Savannah'' (a steam ship) and was buried at the Delaware County Society of the New Jerusalem Church Burial Ground in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. In the 1970s all remains were removed and reinterred in a mass grave at Mt Zion Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.<ref name="usna"/><ref name="register1882"/>

==Medal of Honor citation== Simpson's official Medal of Honor citation reads: <blockquote>For rescuing from drowning John W. Powers, ordinary seaman on board the U.S.S. ''Essex'', at Monrovia, Liberia, 31 October 1877.<ref name="citation"/></blockquote>

==References== :{{ACMH}} {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="citation">{{Cite web |title = Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1871–1898 |work = Medal of Honor citations |publisher = United States Army Center of Military History |date = August 5, 2010 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/int1871-98.html |accessdate = August 23, 2010 |archive-date = May 14, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170514070318/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/int1871-98.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="usna">{{Cite web |title = Medal of Honor recipients |work = USNA Notable Graduates |publisher = United States Naval Academy |url = http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Notables/MOH/index.htm |accessdate = August 23, 2010 |archive-date = December 17, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131217015005/http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Notables/MOH/index.htm |url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="register1882">{{Cite book |title = Register of the commissioned, warrant, and volunteer officers of the Navy of the United States, including officers of the Marine Corps and others, to January 1, 1882 |publisher = United States Government Printing Office |year = 1882 |location = Washington, D.C. |page = 149 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U80cAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA149}}</ref> }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Henry Lakin}} Category:1859 births Category:1881 deaths Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:English-born Medal of Honor recipients Category:Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor Category:Sailors from London Category:United States Naval Academy alumni Category:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Georgia (U.S. state)

Henry Lakin Simpson

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