Nimitz, Chester William

Nimitz, Chester William (nĭm`ĭts), 1885–1966, American admiral, b. Fredericksburg, Tex. A graduate of Annapolis, he was chief of staff to the commander of the submarine force of the Atlantic Fleet in World War I. In 1939, he was made chief of the Bureau of Navigation, and, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he succeeded (1941) Husband E. Kimmel as commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz headed the naval fighting forces in the Pacific throughout World War II. In Dec., 1944, he was made fleet admiral (five-star admiral) and a year later succeeded Ernest J. King as chief of naval operations. After he retired (Dec., 1947) from the navy, he headed (1949) the United Nations commission in the dispute over Kashmir.

Bibliography

See E. P. Hoyt, How They Won the War in the Pacific (1970).

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Nimitz, Chester William 

Born Feb. 24, 1885, in Fredricksburg, Texas; died Feb. 20, 1966, in San Francisco. American fleet admiral (1944).

Nimitz graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1905 and served in both command and staff positions. In 1918 he was chief of staff for the submarine forces of the US Atlantic Fleet. During World War II (1939–45) he was commander of the US Pacific Ocean Fleet from late December 1941 until November 1945 and conducted a series of large-scale naval operations against Japan during the Pacific Ocean campaigns of 1941–45. On Sept. 2, 1945, he signed the Japanese instrument of surrender on behalf of the USA. In December 1945 he was made chief of naval operations. He retired in 1947 and served as an adviser to the Department of the Navy.