George Albert Converse was born 13 May 1844 at Norwich, Vermont and was appointed midshipman 29 November 1861.
   He was one of the first officers involved in the introduction of electricity aboard men-of-war and pioneered in experimentation with and introduction of smokeless powder in the Navy. In 1876, he was also instrumental in obtaining Lightning (Steam Launch No. 6), a spar torpedo boat designed by Nathaniel G. Herreshoff.
   During the Spanish American War, Converse commanded cruiser Montgomery operating with Admiral William T. Sampson's squadron off Cuba. Promoted rear admiral 21 October 1903, he was appointed Chief of the Bureaus of Equipment, Ordnance, and Navigation in turn.
   Rear Admiral Converse was considered one of the ablest officers in the Navy and was well known as an expert on ordnance, especially regarding to torpedoes. In 1904, when only the first sixteen “torpedo boat destroyers” were in commission, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the Navy to convene a board under his leadership to “consider the types and qualities of torpedo vessels and their machinery.” The board developed a functional description for future destroyers, which was first applied in the design of the Smith- and Paulding-class “flivvers” of fiscal years 1907–11.
   Rear Admiral Converse died 29 March 1909 at Washington, DC.
   Clemson-class DD 291 was also named Converse.