Mahan Alfred Thayer

Ma·han

 (mə-hăn′), Alfred Thayer 1840-1914.

American naval officer and historian whose written works, such as The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 (1890), prompted a worldwide buildup of naval strength prior to World War I.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.