Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks (captain, master commandant, lieutenant, and midshipman) until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the title of commodore. Like its Royal Navy counterpart at the time, the U.S. Navy commodore was not a higher rank, but a temporary assignment for Navy officers, as Herman Melville wrote in his 1850 novel, White-Jacket.

Commodore was established as a temporary rank in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was discontinued in 1947, its previous incumbents having all been advanced to Rear Admiral or retired. Nearly forty years later, it was reinstated as an official rank with a pay grade of O-7, replacing the previously titled Rear Admiral (lower half), which were U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard flag officers paid at the one-star rank of an O-7, but who wore the two-star rank insignia of an O-8. In 1982, following years of objections and complaints by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps, the rank of Commodore was again reintroduced in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard as an O-7 rank. Confusion soon followed in the Navy and Coast Guard between the O-7 flag officers with the rank of Commodore and the multiple O-6 Captains concurrently in command of functional air wings, destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, etc., holding the honorary title of Commodore. In 1983, after a very brief redesignation of Commodore Admiral, the O-7 paygrade in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard was again redesignated as Rear Admiral (lower half), but with the single star for collar insignia and applicable shoulder insignia (i.e., flight suits, jackets, etc.), single silver star on top of solid gold background shoulder board insignia, and a single broad gold sleeve stripe insignia for dress blue uniforms.

Commodore may refer to:

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest navy in the world, with a battle fleet tonnage that is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service, one under construction (two planned), and one in reserve. The service had 328,516 personnel on active duty and 101,689 in the Navy Reserve in January 2011. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft.

The Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. The United States Constitution provided the legal basis for a military force by giving Congress the power "to provide and maintain a navy".

Depredations against U.S. shipping by Barbary Coast pirates in the Mediterranean Sea spurred Congress to employ this power by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six frigates. These ships were used to end most pirate activity off the Barbary Coast. In the 20th century, American blue-water navy capability was demonstrated by the 1907–1909 world tour of the Great White Fleet.

Raymond William Stacey Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain. He won two Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. His second hit series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations. He is also widely known for his role as Steve Martin in both Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and Godzilla 1985.

In addition to acting, Burr owned an orchid business and had begun to grow a vineyard. He was a collector of wines and art, and was very fond of cooking.

After his death from cancer in 1993, Burr's personal life came into question as details of his known biography appeared to be unverifiable.

In 1996, Raymond Burr was ranked #44 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Burr was born Raymond William Stacey Burr in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, to William Johnston Burr (1889–1985), an Irish hardware salesman, and his wife Minerva (née Smith, 1892–1974), a concert pianist and music teacher, who was of English and Scottish descent. After his parents divorced, Burr moved to Vallejo, California with his mother and younger siblings, Geraldine and James Edmond. He attended a military academy for a while and graduated from Berkeley High School.

Bruce DeMars is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion from 1988 to 1996.

DeMars was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 3, 1935, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1957.

After graduation, he initially served aboard the surface ships USS Telfair (APA-210) and USS Okanogan (APA-220) before attending Submarine School.

His first submarine assignment was the diesel USS Capitaine (SS-336). He underwent nuclear power training, followed by assignment to the nuclear-powered submarines USS George Washington (SSBN-598), USS Snook (SSN-592), and USS Sturgeon (SSN-637) before taking command of USS Cavalla (SSN-684).

His shore duty stations include being an instructor at the Nuclear Power School and Submarine School and attending the Armed Forces Staff College. After staff duty with Squadron Ten, DeMars served as Senior Member of the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, United States Atlantic Fleet.

He commanded Submarine Development Squadron Twelve in New London, Connecticut and then served as Deputy Director, Attack Submarine Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, until selected for promotion to Rear Admiral in 1981.