Chester Nimitz

Chester William Nimitz (February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II. He was the nation's leading authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation (now called the Bureau of Personnel) in 1939.

Civilian Life

On 15 December 1947, he retired from the Navy as Chief of Naval Operations. He and his wife Catherine moved to Berkeley, California. After he suffered a serious fall in 1964, they moved from their Berkeley home to naval quarters on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay.

Related Topics:
15 December - 1947 - Berkeley, California - San Francisco Bay

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In San Francisco, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. After the war, he worked to restore good will with Japan -- the nation he did so much to defeat in the War -- by helping raise funds for the restoration of the battleship Mikasa, Admiral Heihachiro Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905.

Related Topics:
''Mikasa'' - Heihachiro Togo - Battle of Tsushima - 1905

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Nimitz took an active interest in community affairs, and served as a regent of the University of California from 1948-1956.

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Catherine and Chester Nimitz had four children: Catherine Vance (b. 1914), Chester (1915-2002), Anna (1919-2003) and Mary (b. 1931). Chester W. Nimitz, Jr. graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1936, 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 1969-1980. Anna Elizabeth ("Nancy") Nimitz was an expert on the Soviet economy at the RAND Corporation from 1952 until her retirement in the 1980s. Sister Mary Aquinas (Nimitz) became a sister in the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), working at Dominican University of California.

Related Topics:
U.S. Naval Academy - 1936 - 1957 - Rear Admiral - PerkinElmer - Soviet - RAND Corporation - Dominican University of California

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Fleet Admiral Nimitz died at home on the evening of 20 February 1966. The place of death is variously reported as Treasure Island or Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay.

Related Topics:
20 February - 1966 - Yerba Buena Island - San Francisco Bay

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