Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on February 24, 1885, Chester Nimitz graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1905 and was assigned to the Pacific. He held a variety of positions, arriving at the post of chief of the Bureau of Navigation in 1939.
After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, President Roosevelt appointed Nimitz to command the Pacific Fleet, replacing Admiral Kimmel.
Under Nimitz` guidance, the Navy and Marines defeated the Japanese forces through the Pacific and it was Nimitz, now a five-star admiral, who accepted the surrender of Japan on the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 in Tokyo harbor.
Following the war, Nimitz was appointed chief of naval operations, serving until December 1947. Nimitz died in San Francisco on February 20, 1966.