Who was the first graduate of the United States Naval Academy?

Wesley Brown was the first black man to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4718590&sourceCode=RSS


The U.S. Naval Academy's first class graduation was June 10-1854. I'm not finding the name of the first person to receive the honors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854#June

Through the efforts of the Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, the Naval School was established without Congressional funding, at a 10-acre Army post named Fort Severn in Annapolis, Maryland, on October 10, 1845, with a class of 50 midshipmen and seven professors. The curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French.

https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/news/2022/nhm-100422.html

In 1850, what was originally called The Naval School was changed to the present United States Naval Academy, with the first official graduating class of six men being held on June 10, 1854. Considering most exercises are conducted alphabetically, it looks like Mr.John Sanford Barnes was the first in line.

usna.com/AlumniOnly/AlumniLookup/Lookup.asp [no longer exists]

robboy--VERY nice job! Here are all six members of the class...

The Class of 1854

Mr. John Sanford Barnes
ENS John Cain, USN
RADM Joseph N Miller, USN (Ret.)
RADM Thomas Oliver Selfridge, USN (Ret.)
Mr. John M Stribling
ENS James Madison Todd, USN

Looking at this, it could be Thomas Selfridge

CLASS OF 1854 (three YEARS' COURSE), SIX MEMBERS
Selfridge, Thomas Oliver, Jr., Massachusetts (R. Adm'l)
Cain, John, Jr., Indiana
Miller, Joseph N., Ohio (R. Adm'l)
Todd, James Madison, Massachusetts
Barnes, John Sanford, Massachusetts
Stribling, John M., South Carolina

https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030752434/cu31924030752434_djvu.txt
https://archive.org/details/cu31924030752434