Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a
fleet admiral in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. 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
Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Adm ...
, commanding
Allied air, land, and sea forces during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
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nuclear-powered submarine, , whose propulsion system later completely superseded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
supercarrier, the lead ship of
her class, is named after him.
Early life and education
Nimitz, a
German Texan, was born the son of Anna Josephine (Henke) and Chester Bernhard Nimitz on February 24, 1885, in
Fredericksburg, Texas, where his grandfather's hotel is now the
National Museum of the Pacific War. His frail,
rheumatic father had died six months earlier, on August 14, 1884. In 1890 Anna married William Nimitz (1864-1943), Chester B. Nimitz's brother. He was significantly influenced by his German-born paternal grandfather,
Charles Henry Nimitz, a former seaman in the
German Merchant Marine, who taught him, "the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry – especially about things over which you have no control." His grandfather had become a
Texas Ranger in the Texas Mounted Volunteers in 1851 and had then served as captain of the Gillespie Rifles Company in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
.
Originally, Nimitz applied to
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
in hopes of becoming an
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
officer, but no appointments were available. His congressman,
James L. Slayden, told him that he had one appointment available for the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
and that he would award it to the best-qualified candidate. Nimitz felt that this was his only opportunity for further education and spent extra time studying to earn the appointment. He was appointed to the Naval Academy from
Texas's 12th congressional district in 1901, and he graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, seventh in a class of 114.
Military career
Early career
Nimitz joined the
battleship at
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and cruised on her to the Far East. In September 1906, he was transferred to the cruiser ; on January 31, 1907, after the two years at sea as a
warrant officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...
then required by law, he was commissioned as an
ensign. Remaining on Asiatic Station in 1907, he successively served on the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
,
destroyer , and cruiser .
The destroyer ''Decatur''
ran aground on a mud bank in the Philippines on July 7, 1908, while under the command of Ensign Nimitz. Nimitz had failed to check the harbor's tide tables and tried Batangas' harbor when the water level was low, leaving ''Decatur'' stuck until the tide rose again the next morning, and she was pulled free by a small steamer.
Nimitz was
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of mem ...
ed and found guilty of neglect of duty, but due to his otherwise excellent record and willingness to admit his own fault, was only issued a
letter of reprimand.
Nimitz returned to the United States on board
USS ''Ranger'' when that vessel was converted to a
school ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...
, and in January 1909, began instruction in the First Submarine Flotilla. In May of that year, he was given command of the flotilla, with additional duty in command of , later renamed ''A-1''. He was promoted directly from ensign to lieutenant in January 1910. He commanded (later renamed ''C-5'') when that submarine was commissioned on February 2, 1910, and on November 18, 1910, assumed command of (later renamed ''D-1'').
In the latter command, he had additional duty from October 10, 1911, as Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. In November 1911, he was ordered to the
Boston Navy Yard, to assist in fitting out and assumed command of that submarine, which had been renamed ''E-1'', at her commissioning on February 14, 1912. On the
monitor ''Tonopah'' (then employed as a submarine tender) on March 20, 1912, he rescued Fireman Second Class W. J. Walsh from drowning, receiving a
Silver Lifesaving Medal for his action.
After commanding the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, he supervised the building of
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s for the fleet
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined c ...
, under construction at the
New London Ship and Engine Company,
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London ...
.
World War I
In the summer of 1913, Nimitz (who spoke fluent German) studied engines at the
Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nürnberg (M.A.N.) diesel engine plants in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, Germany, and
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...
, Belgium. Returning to the
New York Navy Yard, he became
executive and engineer officer of ''Maumee'' at her
commissioning on October 23, 1916.
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Nimitz was chief engineer of ''Maumee'' while the vessel served as a refueling ship for the first squadron of US Navy destroyers to cross the Atlantic, to take part in the war. Under his supervision, ''Maumee'' conducted the first-ever
underway refuelings. On August 10, 1917, Nimitz became aide to Rear Admiral
Samuel S. Robison, Commander, Submarine Force, US Atlantic Fleet (
ComSubLant).
On February 6, 1918, Nimitz was appointed chief of staff and was awarded a
Letter of Commendation
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
for meritorious service as
COMSUBLANT's chief of staff. On September 16, he reported to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and on October 25 was given additional duty as senior member, Board of Submarine Design.
Interwar Period
From May 1919 to June 1920, Nimitz served as executive officer of the battleship . He then commanded the cruiser with additional duty in command of Submarine Division 14, based at
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
, Hawaii. Returning to the mainland in the summer of 1922, he studied at the
Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...
,
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...
.
In June 1923, he became aide and assistant chief of staff to the Commander,
Battle Fleet, and later to the Commander in Chief,
United States Fleet. In August 1926, he went to the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, where he established one of the first
Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps units and successfully advocated for the program's expansion.
Nimitz lost part of one finger in an accident with a diesel engine, saving the rest of it only when the machine jammed against his
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
ring.
In June 1929, he took command of Submarine Division 20. In June 1931, he assumed command of the
destroyer tender and the destroyers out of commission at
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
. In October 1933, he took command of the cruiser and deployed to the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The te ...
, where in December, ''Augusta'' became the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...
of the
Asiatic Fleet. While in command of the Augusta, his legal aide was
Chesty Puller.
In April 1935, Nimitz returned home for three years as assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation, before becoming commander, Cruiser Division 2, Battle Force. In September 1938 he took command of Battleship Division 1, Battle Force. On June 15, 1939, he was appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation. During this time, Nimitz conducted experiments in the underway refueling of large ships which would prove a key element in the Navy's success in the war to come.
From 1940 to 1941, Nimitz served as president of the Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington, Virginia.
World War II
Ten days after the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Nimitz was selected by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the commander-in-chief of the
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor ...
(CINCPACFLT). Nimitz immediately departed Washington for Hawaii and took command in a ceremony on the top deck of the submarine . He was promoted to the rank of
admiral, effective December 31, 1941, upon assuming command. The change of command ceremony would normally have taken place aboard a battleship, but every battleship in Pearl Harbor had been either sunk or damaged during the attack. Assuming command at the most critical period of the war in the Pacific, Admiral Nimitz organized his forces to halt the Japanese advance, despite the shortage of ships, planes, and supplies. He had a significant advantage in that the United States had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and had made progress on the
naval code JN-25. The Japanese had kept radio silence before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but events then were moving so rapidly that they had to rely on coded radio messages that they did not realize were being read in Hawaii.
On March 24, 1942, the newly formed US-British
Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the
Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later, the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and t ...
(JCS) divided the theater into three areas: the
Pacific Ocean Areas
Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Adm ...
, the
Southwest Pacific Area (commanded by General
Douglas MacArthur), and the
Southeast Pacific Area. The JCS designated Nimitz as "Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas", with operational control over all
Allied units (air, land, and sea) in that area.
Nimitz, in Hawaii, and his superior Admiral
Ernest King, the Chief of Naval Operations, in Washington, rejected the plan of General Douglas MacArthur to advance on Japan through New Guinea and the Philippines and Formosa. Instead, they proposed an
island-hopping plan that would allow them to bypass most of the Japanese strength in the Central Pacific until they reached Okinawa. President Roosevelt compromised, giving both MacArthur and Nimitz their own theaters. The two Pacific theaters were favored, to the dismay of generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower, who favored a Germany-first strategy. King and Nimitz provided MacArthur with some naval forces but kept most of the carriers. However, when the time came to plan an invasion of Japan, MacArthur was given overall command.
Nimitz faced superior Japanese forces at the crucial defensive actions of the
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
and the
Battle of Midway. The Battle of the Coral Sea, while a loss in terms of total damage suffered, has been described as resulting in the strategic success of turning back an apparent Japanese invasion of
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
on the island of New Guinea. Two Japanese carriers were temporarily taken out of action in the battle, which would deprive the Japanese of their use in the Midway operation that shortly followed. The Navy's intelligence team figured that the Japanese would be attacking Midway, so Nimitz moved all his available forces to the defense. The severe losses in Japanese carriers at Midway affected the balance of naval air power during the remainder of 1942 and were crucial in neutralizing Japanese offensive threats in the South Pacific. Naval engagements during the
Battle of Guadalcanal left both forces severely depleted. However, with the allied advantage in land-based air-power, the results were sufficient to secure Guadalcanal. The US and allied forces then undertook to neutralize remaining Japanese offensive threats with the
Solomon Islands campaign and the
New Guinea campaign, while building capabilities for major fleet actions. In 1943, Midway became a forward submarine base, greatly enhancing US capabilities against Japanese shipping.
In terms of combat, 1943 was a relatively quiet year, but it proved decisive inasmuch as Nimitz gained the
materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the spec ...
and manpower needed to launch major fleet offensives to destroy Japanese power in the central Pacific region. This drive opened with the
Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign from November 1943 to February 1944, followed by the destruction of the strategic Japanese base at
Truk Lagoon, and the Marianas campaign that brought the Japanese homeland within range of new strategic bombers. Nimitz's forces inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese fleet in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious in ...
(June 19–20, 1944), which allowed the capture of
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...
,
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...
, and
Tinian. His Fleet Forces isolated enemy-held bastions on the central and eastern
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
and secured in quick succession
Peleliu,
Angaur, and
Ulithi. In the Philippines, his ships destroyed much of the remaining Japanese naval power at the
Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 24 to 26, 1944. With the loss of the Philippines, Japan's energy supply routes from Indonesia came under direct threat, crippling their war effort.
By act of Congress, passed on December 14, 1944, the rank of
fleet admiral – the highest rank in the Navy – was established. The next day President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Nimitz to that rank. Nimitz took the oath of that office on December 19, 1944.
In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam for the remainder of the war. Nimitz's wife remained in the continental United States for the duration of the war and did not join her husband in Hawaii or Guam. In 1945, Nimitz's forces launched successful amphibious assaults on
Iwo Jima and
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
and his carriers raided the home waters of Japan. In addition, Nimitz also arranged for the Army Air Corps to mine the Japanese ports and waterways by air with
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 ...
es in a successful mission called
Operation Starvation, which severely interrupted the Japanese logistics.
On September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed as representative of the United States when
Japan formally surrendered on board in
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
. On October 5, 1945, which had been officially designated as "Nimitz Day" in
Washington, D.C., Nimitz was personally presented a second
Gold Star for the third award of the
Navy Distinguished Service Medal by President
Harry S. Truman "for exceptionally meritorious service as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from June 1944 to August 1945."
Post war
On November 26, 1945, Nimitz's nomination as
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was confirmed by the US Senate, and on December 15, 1945, he relieved Fleet Admiral
Ernest J. King. He had assured the President that he was willing to serve as the CNO for one two-year term, but no longer. He tackled the difficult task of reducing the most powerful navy in the world to a fraction of its war-time strength while establishing and overseeing active and reserve fleets with the strength and readiness required to support national policy.
For the postwar trial of German Grand Admiral
Karl Dönitz at the
Nuremberg Trials in 1946, Nimitz furnished an
affidavit in support of the practice of
unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to ...
, a practice that he himself had employed throughout the war in the Pacific. This evidence is widely credited as a reason why Dönitz was sentenced to only 10 years of imprisonment.
[Judgement: Dönitz](_blank)
the Avalon Project
The Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history and diplomacy. The project is part of the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library.
The project contains online electronic copies of documents dating back to the ...
at the Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
.
Nimitz
endorsed an entirely new course for the US Navy's future by way of supporting then-Captain
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...
's chain-of-command-circumventing proposal in 1947 to build , the world's first nuclear-powered vessel. As is noted at a display at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas: "Nimitz's greatest legacy as CNO is arguably his support of Admiral Hyman Rickover's effort to convert the submarine fleet from diesel to nuclear propulsion."
Inactive duty as a fleet admiral
Nimitz retired from office as CNO on December 15, 1947, and received a third Gold Star in lieu of a fourth Navy Distinguished Service Medal. However, since the rank of fleet admiral is a lifetime appointment, he remained on active duty for the rest of his life, with full pay and benefits. He and his wife, Catherine, moved to
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
. After he suffered a serious fall in 1964, he and Catherine moved to US Naval quarters on
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Yerba Buena'') sits in San Francisco Bay within the borders of the City and County of San Francisco. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Fra ...
in the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...
.
In San Francisco, Nimitz served in the mostly ceremonial post as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. He worked to help restore goodwill with Japan after World War II by helping to raise funds for the restoration of the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship , Admiral
Heihachiro Togo's flagship at the
Battle of Tsushima in 1905.
From 1949 to 1953, Nimitz served as UN-appointed plebiscite administrator for
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. His proposed role as administrator was accepted by Pakistan but rejected by India.
Nimitz became a member of the
Bohemian Club of San Francisco. In 1948, he sponsored a Bohemian dinner in honor of US Army General
Mark Clark, known for his campaigns in North Africa and Italy.
Nimitz served as a regent of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...
from 1948 to 1956, where he had formerly been a faculty member as a professor of naval science for the
Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Nimitz was honored on October 17, 1964, by the University of California on Nimitz Day.
Personal life
Nimitz married Catherine Vance Freeman (March 22, 1892 – February 1, 1979) on April 9, 1913, in
Wollaston, Massachusetts
Wollaston, Massachusetts, is a neighborhood in the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Divided by Hancock Street or Route 3A, the Wollaston Beach side is known as Wollaston Park, while the Wollaston Hill side is known as Wollaston Heights.
It is b ...
.
Nimitz and his wife had four children:
# Catherine Vance "Kate" (22 February 1914, Brooklyn, NY – 14 January 2015)
[Potter. – p. 125.]
#
Chester William "Chet" Jr. (1915–2002)
# Anna Elizabeth "Nancy" (1919–2003)
# Mary Manson (1931–2006)
Catherine Vance graduated from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, in 1934,
[Potter. pp. 158–59.] became a music librarian with the
Washington D.C. Public Library, and married US Navy Commander James Thomas Lay (1909–2001), from St. Clair, Missouri, in Chester and Catherine's suite at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 1945. She had met Lay in the summer of 1934 while visiting her parents in Southeast Asia.
Chester Nimitz Jr. graduated from the
US Naval Academy in 1936 and served as a submariner in the Navy until his retirement in 1957, reaching the (post-retirement) rank of rear admiral; he served as chairman of
PerkinElmer from 1969 to 1980.
Anna Elizabeth ("Nancy") Nimitz was an expert on the
Soviet economy at the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financ ...
from 1952 until her retirement in the 1980s.
Sister Mary Aquinas (Nimitz) became a sister in the
Order of Preachers (Dominicans), working at the
Dominican University of California. She taught biology for 16 years and was academic dean for 11 years, acting president for one year, and vice president for institutional research for 13 years before becoming the university's emergency preparedness coordinator. She held this job until her death, due to cancer, on February 27, 2006.
Death
In late 1965, Nimitz suffered a stroke, complicated by
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
. In January 1966, he left the
US Naval Hospital (Oak Knoll) in
Oakland to return home to his naval quarters. He died at home on the evening of February 20 at Quarters One on
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Yerba Buena'') sits in San Francisco Bay within the borders of the City and County of San Francisco. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Fra ...
in
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...
, four days before his 81st birthday.
His funeral on February 24—what would have been his 81st birthday—was at the chapel of adjacent
Naval Station Treasure Island, and Nimitz was buried with full military honors at
Golden Gate National Cemetery in
San Bruno.
[Potter. – p.472.] He lies alongside his wife and his long-term friends Admiral
Raymond A. Spruance
Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 – December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle ...
, Admiral
Richmond K. Turner, and Admiral
Charles A. Lockwood and their wives, an arrangement made by all of them while living.
Dates of rank
:
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...
– January 1905
* Nimitz never held the rank of
lieutenant junior grade, as he was appointed a full lieutenant after three years of service as an ensign. For administrative reasons, Nimitz's naval record states that he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant on the same day.
* Nimitz was promoted directly from captain to rear admiral. During Nimitz's service, there was only one rank of
rear admiral, without the later distinction between upper and lower half, nor did the rank of commodore exist when Nimitz was at that stage of his career.
* By presidential appointment, he skipped the rank of
vice admiral and became an admiral in December 1941.
* Nimitz's rank of
fleet admiral was made permanent in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on May 13, 1946, a lifetime appointment.
Decorations and awards
United States awards
Foreign awards
Orders
Decorations
Service medals
Memorials and legacy
Besides the honor of a United States
Great Americans series 50¢ postage stamp, the following institutions and locations have been named in honor of Nimitz:
* , the first of
her class of ten nuclear-powered
supercarriers, which was commissioned in 1975 and remains in service
* Nimitz Foundation, established in 1970, which funds the
National Museum of the Pacific War and the Admiral Nimitz Museum,
Fredericksburg, Texas
* The Nimitz Freeway (
Interstate 880) – from
Oakland to
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
*
Nimitz Glacier
The Nimitz Glacier is an Antarctic glacier, long and wide, draining the area about west of the Vinson Massif and flowing southeast between the Sentinel Range and Bastien Range to enter Minnesota Glacier, in the central Ellsworth Mountains ...
in Antarctica for his service during
Operation Highjump as the CNO
* Nimitz Boulevard – a major thoroughfare in the
Point Loma Neighborhood of
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
* Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Gate – Main gate for Naval Base San Diego
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
*Nimitz BEQ at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina
* Camp Nimitz, a recruit camp constructed in 1955 at the
Naval Training Center, San Diego
* Nimitz Highway –
Hawaii Route 92 located in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...
near the
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
* The Nimitz Library, the main library at the
US Naval Academy,
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, Maryland
* Nimitz Drive, in the Admiral Heights neighborhood of
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, Maryland
* Nimitz Lane, Willingboro, New Jersey
* Callaghan Hall (the Naval and Air Force ROTC building at UC Berkeley) containing the Nimitz Library (was gutted by arson in 1985)
* The town of
Nimitz in
Summers County,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
* The summit on
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...
where Chester Nimitz relocated his Pacific Fleet headquarters, and where the current Commander US Naval Forces Marianas (ComNavMar) resides, is called
Nimitz Hill Nimitz Hill may refer to:
* Nimitz Hill (geographic feature), a hill in Asan, Guam surrounded by the Nimitz Hill Annex census-designated place
* Nimitz Hill (CDP)
Nimitz Hill is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Piti, Guam. is loc ...
* Nimitz Park, a recreational area located at
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan
* The Nimitz Trail in
Tilden Park in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
* The Main Gate at
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
is called Nimitz Gate
* Admiral Nimitz Circle – located in
Fair Park
Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...
,
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...
* Chester Nimitz Oriental Garden Waltz performed by
Austin Lounge Lizards
* Admiral Nimitz Fanfare composed by John Steven Lasher (2014)
* Admiral Nimitz March composed by John Steven Lasher (2014)
* The Nimitz Building,
Raytheon
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliz ...
Company site headquarters,
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merge ...
* Nimitz Road in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, is named in his honor.
* Nimitz Place part of Havemeyer Park located in
Old Greenwich, Connecticut, was named in his honor along with many other World War II military personnel.
* Nimitz Hall is the
Officer Candidate School barracks of
Naval Station Newport,
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...
. The barracks was dedicated March 15, 2013.
* Nimitz-McArthur Building, Headquarters US Pacific Command
* Nimitz Statue, designed by
Armando Hinojosa
Armando Garcia Hinojosa (born 1944) is an artist and educator from Laredo, Texas, who is known for some half dozen major pieces of sculpture, including the massive Tejano Monument on the south lawn of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Th ...
of
Laredo, is located at the entrance to
SeaWorld in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
.
* Nimitz Drive in
Grants, New Mexico
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Statue commissioned by the
Naval Order of the United States, is situated near the bow of the
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
on
Ford Island
Ford Island ( haw, Poka Ailana) is an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been known as Rabbit Island, Marín's Island, and Little Goats Island, and its native Hawaiian name is ''Mokuumeume''. The ...
, facing the
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
. The statue was dedicated September 2, 2013.
* Nimitz Beach Park, Agat, Guam
* Nimitz Drive,
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
,
West Lafayette, Indiana
* Nimitz Avenue,
Mare Island, Vallejo California
* Chester W. Nimitz St.,
Bakersfield, California
* Nimitz Road,
Dover, Delaware
Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part o ...
* Nimitz Street,
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. As ...
Schools
*
Nimitz High School, (Harris County, Texas)
Chester W. Nimitz Senior High School is a public secondary school made up of two campuses located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. The campuses have Houston addresses. The school is located directly across the street fro ...
* Nimitz High School, Irving, Texas.
* Chester W. Nimitz Middle School,
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
* Chester W. Nimitz Middle School,
Huntington Park, California
* Nimitz Middle School,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
* Chester Nimitz Middle School, Tulsa Oklahoma (Now Closed)
*
Nimitz Elementary School
The Cupertino Union School District (abbreviated as CUSD) is a school district in Santa Clara County, California. CUSD's jurisdiction covers the communities of Cupertino, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and Los Altos. CUSD opera ...
,
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the no ...
* Chester W. Nimitz Elementary School,
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...
* Nimitz Elementary School,
Kerrville, TexasNimitz Elementary School, Kerrville, Texas
/ref>
In popular culture
* Henry Fonda portrayed Nimitz in the 1965 film '' In Harm's Way'' and the 1976 film '' Midway''.
* Addison Powell portrayed Nimitz in the 1977 film '' MacArthur''.
* Byron Morrow portrayed Nimitz in the pilot movie for Black Sheep Squadron
* Graham Beckel portrayed Nimitz in the 2001 film ''Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
''.
* Woody Harrelson portrayed Nimitz in Roland Emmerich's 2019 film '' Midway''.
See also
* Henry Arnold Karo—see hand-written inscription on photo given to Adm. Karo
* Admiral of the Navy
References
:
Bibliography
*
* "Some Thoughts to Live By", Chester W. Nimitz with Andrew Hamilton, , reprinted from '' Boys' Life'', 1966.
* Potter, E. B. ''Nimitz''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1976. .
* Potter, E. B., and Chester W. Nimitz. ''Sea Power''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960. .
*
*
*
* Lilly, Michael A., Capt., USN (Ret), "Nimitz at Ease", Stairway Press, 2019. ISBN 1949267261.
Further reading
*
*
* Knortz, James A
"The Strategic Leadership of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz"
(Army War College Carlisle Barracks, 2012).
*
* Stone, Christopher B. "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: Leadership Forged Through Adversity" (PhD dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018)
Excerpt
* Wildenberg, Thomas
"Chester Nimitz and the development of fueling at sea"
''Naval War College Review'' 46.4 (1993): 52–62.
1944 interview with Admiral Nimitz
from '' Yank''.
External links
*
*
National Museum of the Pacific War
Nimitz State Historic Site
in Fredericksburg, Texas
"The Navy's Part in the World War". (26 November 1945)
A speech by Nimitz from th
Commonwealth Club of California Records
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
*
Guide to the Chester W. Nimitz Papers, 1941–1966 MS 236
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimitz, Chester
1885 births
1966 deaths
American five-star officers
Battle of Midway
American people of German descent
Burials at Golden Gate National Cemetery
Chiefs of Naval Operations
Military personnel from Texas
German-American culture in Texas
Grand Crosses of the Order of George I
High Commissioners of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Naval War College alumni
People from Fredericksburg, Texas
People from Kerrville, Texas
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Navy admirals
United States Navy World War II admirals
United States Navy personnel who were court-martialed
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil)
Recipients of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Tripod
Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
People from Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
United States Navy personnel of World War I