Roger Welles was a U. S. naval officer, the first commander of USS Oklahoma and appointed the first "Navy Mayor" of San Diego.

Welles gave 33 years service to the navy in a variety of placements, eventually being promoted to Rear-Admiral. As an ensign he was engaged in surveys in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, where he made a study of native peoples culture and language in his spare time. He served two years in the post of Special Counsel to the World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 in Chicago, and was awarded by its board for research on Orinoco River Indians.
A former commander of the Naval Training Center in Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

, his command of the Oklahoma was a short period of time mainly involving the command as a training ship. This was because the oil-fired boilers that she used were not able to be fueled in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, as German U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s had drained their supply. After he gave command over to Rear Admiral Spencer K. Wood, he was appointed Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence

Office of Naval Intelligence

The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...

 (April 1917 – January 1919).

Welles married Harriet Deen Gardner on 17 October 1908, who followed her husband's ship to Asia and later published accounts of journeys in Scribner's Magazine

Scribner's Magazine

Scribner's Magazine was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. Scribner's Magazine was the second magazine out of the "Scribner's" firm, after the publication of Scribner's Monthly...

and the popular book Anchors Aweigh. He was entered on the Navy's Retired List on 7 December 1926, upon attaining the age of 64, and died in New York on 26 April 1932.