The Battle of Midway (June 4, 1942) was one of the key battles in World War II and in naval history. It marked the first major aircraft carrier v. aircraft carrier engagement in naval history and was the first defeat in the onslaught of what were otherwise victory after victory for the armed forces of the Empire of Japan.

On this day in history in 1867, Captain William Reynolds of the screw sloop Lackawanna raised the American flag over Brooks’ Islands (later renamed Midway Atoll). It was formally annexed on 28 December. by the United States as the Unincorporated Territory of Midway Island and was administered by the United States Navy.

There were attempts to settle the island but the first successful effort was by the Commercial Pacific Cable Company as part of the effort to lay a trans-Pacific telegraph cable. A small contingent of US Marines were stationed on the island. In 1935 Pan American Airlines operated out of the island as part of it trans-Pacific routes – and as a tourist destination.

After the Battle of Midway, the island became a depot for US submarine to refuel and resupply. A submarine tender and floating dry dock were stationed in the lagoon in case of needed repairs. As well the US Navy operated an airfield on the island.

After the war, Midway served an intelligence gathering station, missal tracking, SOSUS array station tracking Pacific surface and subsurface operations, and continued to operate as a Naval Air Station. During the 1980s, operations on the island drew to a close. In 1988 Midway was designated as a National Wildlife Refuge while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy. In 1996 Midway’s jurisdiction and control was transferred to the United States Department of the Interior. The Fish and Wildlife Service assumed management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on June 30, 1997, after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed.

The MIdway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has a website to learn more.