Clifton Sprague - Biography

Biography

Sprague was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and attended the Roxbury Latin School, and the United States Naval Academy in June 1914 where he was given the nickname "Ziggy" (although no relation to Admiral Thomas L. Sprague, the two both attended the Naval Academy, later graduating from the same class). Due to the American involvement in World War I he received his commission as an ensign one year early on June 28, 1917, finishing forty-third out of 199. His wife was the sister of The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald.