J. C. Cantwell

John Cassin Cantwell (9 January 1859 – 8 October 1940) was a United States Coast Guard officer and early United States explorer of Alaska.

Biography Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Cantwell was the son of an Irish-born military officer who sent him to study at a Roman Catholic seminary in Ireland. Returning to the United States, he joined the United States Revenue Cutter Service as a seaman in 1879. After a year, he passed a competitive officer candidate examination and became a cadet on 7 June 1880. He was commissioned as a third lieutenant on 5 July 1882.

In 1884, Cantwell was assigned to the USRC Thomas Corwin based at San Francisco. Under the command of Captain Michael A. Healy, the Thomas Corwin made summer patrols to the Bering Sea and Alaskan coast in both 1884 and 1885. The delta and lower part of the Kowak River having been explored by U.S. Navy Lieutenant George M. Stoney in 1883, Cantwell was sent to explore further upriver in the ship's steam launch in 1884. He conducted additional exploration of the river valley the following summer accompanied by Smithsonian Institution naturalist Charles Townsend. He then commanded USRC Onondaga based at Norfolk, Virginia.

Cantwell was promoted to senior captain during World War I, serving as commanding officer of the San Pedro Coast Guard training center. Cantwell died at a Marin County hospital in Sausalito and was buried in the Pacific Ocean from the Thetis-class cutter USCGC Daphne on 10 October 1940.

Legacy Cantwell Glacier, Cantwell Creek and the town of Cantwell in Alaska were named in his honor. The Nenana River was formerly named in his honor.