Rev. Walter Colton (May 7, 1797 – January 22, 1851) was a Chaplain for the United States Navy, the Alcalde of Monterey, and the author of Three Years in California and Deck and Port. He was also co-publisher of California’s first newspaper, The Californian.
Walter Colton was born in Rutland County, Vermont, on May 9, 1797. He was the third of 12 children born to Walter and Thankful (Cobb) Colton; his nephew John Jay Colton later became known as a pioneer of anesthesia. Walter went to Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of 17 to learn to be a cabinetmaker.
He attended Hartford Grammar School and entered Yale in the fall of 1818. He won the Berkeleyan Prize for the best Latin translation, and delivered the valedictory poem at his graduation in 1822. He entered Andover Theological Seminary and graduated in 1825. He became a professor of moral philosophy and letters at the Scientific and Military Academy at Middletown, Connecticut.
