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Chester W. Nimitz
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Fleet admiral
Chester W. Nimitz
Chester Nimitz as CNO (cropped).jpg
Portrait of Nimitz, c.1945-47
Born February 24, 1885
Fredericksburg, Texas, US
Died February 20, 1966 (aged 80)
San Francisco, California, US
Buried Golden Gate National Cemetery
San Bruno, California, US
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1905–1966[1]
Rank Fleet Admiral
Service number 5572
Commands held
Chief of Naval Operations
Pacific Ocean Areas
United States Pacific Fleet
Bureau of Navigation
USS Augusta (CA-31)
USS Rigel (AR-11)
USS Chicago (CA-14)
Atlantic Submarine Flotilla
USS Skipjack (SS-24)
3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet
USS Narwhal (SS-17)
USS Snapper (SS-16)
USS Plunger (SS-2)
First Submarine Flotilla
USS Decatur (DD-5)
Battles/wars
World War I
World War II
Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of Midway
Solomon Islands campaign
Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Okinawa
Awards
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (4)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Lifesaving Medal
Full list
Relations Charles Henry Nimitz (grandfather)
Chester Nimitz Jr. (son)
Other work Regent of the University of California
Signature Chester Nimitz signature.svg
Chester William Nimitz (/ˈnɪmɪts/; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral of the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.[2]

Nimitz was the leading US Navy authority on submarines. Qualified in submarines during his early years, he later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and then later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, whose propulsion system later completely superseded diesel-powered submarines in the US. He also, beginning in 1917, was the Navy's leading developer of underway replenishment techniques, the tool which during the Pacific war would allow the US fleet to operate away from port almost indefinitely. The chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation in 1939, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. The USS Nimitz supercarrier, the lead ship of her class, is named after him.