Josiah Fox
Josiah Fox (1763–1847) was a British naval architect noted for his involvement in the design and construction of the first significant warships of the United States Navy. Early years Fox was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, Kingdom of Great Britain 9 October 1763, and completed the apprenticeship at the Royal Dockyard, Plymouth, where he later served as a shipwright. In 1793 he traveled to the United States to survey timber resources and was there engaged to teach drafting to the sons of Jonathan Penrose, an American shipwright. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard On 17 July 1794 Fox signed and as a Quaker "affirmed" his support of the Constitution of the United States. Fox was initially employed at $500.00 per year by the US Navy as a clerk draftsman working under Naval Constructor Joshua Humphreys at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Humphreys was the designer of the first Navy frigates. Fox and Humphreys disagreed over design issues, the former believing that the designs were too long and had too sharp a bow, among other problems. This disagreement caused significant animosity between the two, with arguments over credit for the design continuing in the press as late as 1827. Gosport Navy Yard On arrival at Gosport Navy