Phormio, the son of Asopius, was an Athenian general and admiral before and during the Peloponnesian War. A talented naval commander, Phormio commanded at several famous Athenian victories in 428 BC, and was honored after his death with a statue on the acropolis and a state funeral.

Eurybiades was the Spartan commander in charge of the Greek navy during the Persian Wars.

Conon was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, in charge during the decisive loss of the navy at the Battle of Aegospotami.

Lysander was the commander of the Spartan fleet which was victorious against the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC. The following year, he took Athens itself, bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end.

Zhang Shijie was a 13th century Chinese admiral and government official during the Mongol invasion of China.

Admiral George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC RN (April 23, 1697 – 1762) was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe.

Admiral Sir Robert Calder, Bt. KCB (13 July 1745 – 1 September 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Aymar de Chaste was a French admiral during the Franco-Spanish Wars between 1582 to 1598.

John Paul Jones was America's first well-known naval hero in the American Revolutionary War.

Constantine Kanaris was a Greek admiral, freedom fighter and politician.

Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern was the Russian admiral and explorer who in 1803-1806 led the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth. In Russia, Krusenstern is known as Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern