P. V. H. Weems

Philip Van Horn Weems (March 29, 1889 – June 2, 1979) was a United States Navy officer, inventor of navigational instruments and methods, including the Weems Plotter and the Second Setting Watch, and author of navigational textbooks.

Biography Weems was born in Tennessee, the son of Joseph Burch and May Elizabeth Rye Weems. When he was a child, he and his six brothers and one sister were orphaned.

He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1908. At the Academy, he excelled at various sports, and was an All-American center on the Navy football team. He graduated in the class of 1912 and was commissioned an ensign. He specialized in navigation and taught at the Academy. In 1915, he married Margaret Thackray.

In 1927, Weems was sent to the Aircraft Squadron Battle Fleet, before being assigned to the tanker USS Cuyama as its executive officer from 1928 to 1930.

After his first retirement, Weems wrote several books; Air Navigation (1931) was particularly well received, and was awarded a gold medal by the Aero Club of France.

In 1960, Weems received a gold medal from the American Institute of Navigation. The institute also created an annual award named after him. In 1968, the National Geographic Society awarded him the John Oliver la Gorce Medal. Mount Weems in Antarctica is named in his honor.

His papers are held by the Tennessee State Library and Archives.