Background
Leary was born on 3 November 1842 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Leary was born on 3 November 1842 in Baltimore, Maryland.
He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1860. During the Civil War, he served in screw sloop Canandaigua and the monitor Sangamon assigned to the Atlantic blockade. During tension with Germany over Samoa, Leary commanded Adams at Samoa from October to December 1888.
In the Spanish–American War, he commanded San Francisco (C-5) off Havana, Cuba.
From 1899 into 1900, Captain Leary served as Naval Governor of Guam. Retiring in 1901, Rear Admiral Leary died 27 December at Chelsea, Massachusetts.
In 1943, the destroyer United States Ship Richard P. Leary (Doctor of Divinity-664) was named in his honor.