Edward Howe Watson (February 28, 1874 – January 7, 1942) was a career United States Navy officer, who led a squadron of destroyers aground off Point Honda on the California coast in 1923.

Naval Academy in June 1895 and served on several ships during the rest of the decade, including Spanish–American War service on board the cruiser USS Detroit.

In 1960, the authors of Tragedy at Honda argued that the causes of the tragedy lay in the failure of new technology from a navigational radio station to supply necessary data to ships operating in dense fog,[7] but that Watson displayed outstanding honor and leadership by taking full responsibility, quoting at length the editors of the Army and Navy Journal, who wrote at the time of the court martial:Captain Watson has given a splendid example of the finest attributes of character overcoming the elemental instinct of self-preservation.

Voluntarily waiving the fundamental right of a defendant to place the burden of proof upon the prosecution, and to refrain from testifying under oath to any facts that might tend to incriminate himself, he took the witness stand and not only freely testified to facts relating to his own culpability but also volunteered his opinion under oath that he was wholly responsible for the disaster, and that none of his subordinates should be blamed.

[7]After the Honda Point disaster, Captain Watson served as Assistant Commandant of the Fourteenth Naval District in Hawaii until he left active duty in November 1929.