The sinking of the USS Maine plunged the United States into war with Spain. A young Lieutenant Richmond Pearson Hobson was just beginning his career as a Naval Constructor when he was given the job of sinking the collier USS Merrimac in the Santiago de Cuba harbor. Although their enterprise was not completely successful and they became Spanish prisoners, the daring of Hobson and his crew captured the imagination of a nation hungry for a hero.
An extremely good-looking, single man, he became the "victim of a kissing craze" and has been called America's most kissed man. His life was one of contrasts as he championed a strong Navy in the Pacific before Japan was considered a threat; supported women's rights and marched with them at a time when no self-respecting male would consider such an action; as a Southerner, he supported civil rights; and fought for prohibition and world-wide narcotics control.
