Ninian Pinkney

Ninian Pinkney, also spelled Pinckney (1811 to 1877), was a United States Navy surgeon and medical director. He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis in 1829 and from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1833, was appointed an assistant surgeon in 1834 and was promoted to surgeon in 1841. His postings included sloops of war and frigates on the Brazil, Mediterranean and Pacific stations, the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia, the Naval Hospital at Norfolk and the Naval Academy. During the American Civil War he served as Fleet Surgeon of the Mississippi Squadron, caring for the sick and wounded, setting up hospital buildings at Memphis and treating casualties from Fort Pillow on the hospital ship Red Rover. Admiral David Dixon Porter praised his zeal and experience as a surgeon. He retired in 1865, became Medical Director in 1871, and the Navy ship USS Pinkney, which saw action in the Pacific in the Second World War, was named in his honor.