Chester William Nimitz , 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).
