• Born at Richfields, near Frederick, Maryland on October 9, 1839.
• Married Anna Rebecca Franklin of Annapolis in 1863, and had three children.
• Died in New York City on October 2, 1911; buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

• Attended United States Naval Academy, 1856-1860.
• Officer, United States Navy, 1860-1901.
• Instructor, United States Naval Academy 1866-1869, 1873-1876.

• Traveled to China, Japan and India on his first commission, 1860-1861.  Schley traveled on the Niagara on a mission to return the Japanese ambassadors to their native lands after their first-ever visit to the United States.
• Serving under Admiral David Farragut, Schley commanded the Monongahela in the bombardment of Port Hudson, Louisiana, 1863.
• Put down insurrection of Chinese forced laborers on Chincha Island, Peru, 1865.
• Korean expedition, 1871
• Promoted to rank of commander, 1874.
• Promoted to rank of commodore, 1898.
• Named Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruitment of the Navy Department, and receives awards and recognition from the Maryland General Assembly and Massachusetts Humane Society for his role in the Arctic rescue of Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greeley and his six companions, 1884.
• Diplomatically resolved hostile situation in harbor of Valparaiso, Chile after members of his crew on the Baltimore were attacked on shore and killed, 1891.
• Promoted by President William McKinley to the rank of rear admiral for his role in the Battle of Santiago and the victory over the Spanish fleet during the Spanish-American War, August 1898.
• Honored across the county for his role in the Battle of Santiago, and received gifts from Maryland General Assembly, and citizens of Pennsylvania and Atlanta, Georgia.
• Puerto Rico Evacuation Commission, 1898.
• Commander of the South Atlantic Squadron, 1898-1901.

• Life-size bronze bust of Admiral Winfield Scott Schley made between 1902 and 1904 by Maryland sculptor, Ernest W. Keyser.
• Bust temporarily installed outside the Old Senate Chamber in the rotunda in 1904.
• Bust moved to present location after completion of the State House Annex in 1905.

Prepared by the Maryland State Archives, 2003