Goodrich was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William and Sarah A. Bearden Goodrich. He applied from Connecticut and was graduated from the
United States Naval Academy in 1864, he spent 2 years in
Colorado and
Frolic; 3 years in
Portsmouth and
Lancaster; and 3 years at the Naval Academy. Between 1874 and 1881 he had duty on board the
USS Tennessee and followed by a tour at the
Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I. After serving as executive officer of
Lancaster,
flagship for the
European Squadron, and Inspector of Ordnance at the
Washington Navy Yard, Goodrich became Officer in Charge of the Newport Torpedo Station in 1886. From 1891 until 1896, he commanded successively
Jamestown,
Constellation, and
Concord before he spent a year as
President of the Naval War College at Newport. Originating the
Coast Signal Service in 1898, he then served as director. During the
Spanish–American War in 1898, he commanded the
USS St. Louis and
Newark, and received the surrender of
Manzanillo, Cuba, following that city's bombardment on 12 August. In the years following, Goodrich commanded
Iowa,
Richmond,
Minneapolis, and
Puritan at sea and served as Commandant of the
Philadelphia Navy Yard (1900) and the
Portsmouth Navy Yard (1903) on land before his promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral 17 February 1904 and his appointment for 3 years as the Commander-in-Chief of the
Pacific Squadron. After the
1906 San Francisco earthquake he went with his fleet to San Francisco to help extinguish the fire, especially by spraying water on the flames from ships anchored in the port. After duty as commandant of the
New York Navy Yard 1907 to 1909, he retired 7 January 1909. Goodrich was a member of the
Naval Order of the United States and served as Commander of the New York Commandery from 1907 to 1908. In 1914 he was admitted as an honorary member of the Connecticut
Society of the Cincinnati. Recalled to active duty in
World War I, Admiral Goodrich served as officer-in-charge of the Pay Officers' Material School at Princeton until 8 November 1919 when he again stepped down from active duty, ending a 50-year naval career. In 1873 he married Eleanor Milnor. They had a large house in
Pomfret, Connecticut called "Gladwyn". He died in Princeton. In 1945, the
destroyer USS Goodrich (DD-831) was named in honor of Goodrich and his son Lieutenant
Caspar Goodrich. ==Published works==