Chester W. Nimitz was a well-known fleet admiral of the United States Navy. He served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II and commanded all air, sea, and land forces in the central Pacific area. One of the navy’s foremost supervisors and strategists, he was qualified in submarines and oversaw the propulsion of the vessels transitioning from gasoline to diesel. Nimitz initially served as head of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation in 1939 and later as Chief of Naval Operations in 1945. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, he grew up under the protection of his grandfather, a former official in the German Merchant Marine who taught him "the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster”. Nimitz initially applied to West Point with the aim of becoming an army officer but ended up joining the Naval Academy in 1901, eventually graduating with distinction. He served as chief of staff in World War I and later participated in World War II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was elevated to Pacific Fleet’s commander in chief. The Battle of the Coral Sea, the battles of the Gilbert Islands and the Solomon Islands, and the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa were conducted under his direction. He died in 1966, at the age of 80.