Tyrone G.
Martin, an American Navy commander and naval historian, died on February 16, 2026. He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on June 5, 1930, and was commissioned through NROTC in 1952.
During 23 years of Navy service, he commanded two destroyers on tours off Korea and Vietnam before becoming the 58th commanding officer of USS Constitution on August 6, 1974. In 1976, he helped host Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during their private tour of the ship. Later, he served as a Senior Naval Science Instructor for the NJROTC program at Boston Technical High School and received the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Tyrone Gabriel Martin (June 5, 1930 – February 26, 2026) was a United States Navy commander, naval historian, most notable as an authority on USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”), of which he was the 58th commanding officer. Martin was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on 5 June 1930 and commissioned an officer through the NROTC in 1952. During his twenty-three years of navy service he commanded two destroyers on tours of duty off Korea and Vietnam finally becoming the commanding officer (captain) of Constitution on 6 August 1974. In July 1976, during the United States Bicentennial celebrations, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived for their state visit and privately toured the ship for approximately thirty minutes with Commander Martin and Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf. During the 1980s, he was a Senior Naval Science Instructor (SNSI) for the NJROTC program at Boston Technical High School.