Principal responsibilities were to provide nautical charts and instruments and to oversee several activities involved navigation research, including the Naval Observatory.
In 1867, the Navy Department took the Academy under direct supervision, but for many years the Bureau of Navigation continued to provide routine administration and financial management.
The Bureau of Navigation permanently acquired personnel responsibilities in the late 1880s, as part of a Navy Department reorganization.
On November 18, 1909, the Bureau of Navigation became part of the Navy Department's newly established Division of Personnel.
The shift in focus from navigation to personnel management, brought a change in name during World War II.