Commander
COMMANDER, in the British navy, the title of the second grade of captains. He commands a small vessel, or is second in command of a large one. A staff commander is entrusted with the navigation of a large ship, and ranks above a navigating lieutenant. Since 1838 the officer next in rank to a captain in the U.S. navy has been called commander.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
