biography
| name: |
Nimitz, Chester W(illiam)
|
pronunciation:
[nimits]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1885–1966)
|
| biography:
| US admiral, born in Fredericksburg, Texas, USA. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1905, served mainly in submarines, and by 1938 had risen to the rank of rear-admiral. Chief of the Bureau of Navigation at the outset of World War 2 (1939–41), he commanded the US Pacific fleet and Pacific Ocean areas (1941–5), contributing to the defeat of Japan. He was made a fleet admiral in 1944, and signed the Japanese surrender documents for the USA on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay (1945). Later posts include chief of naval operations (1945–7), and special assistant to the secretary of the navy (1947–9). |
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