Ernest King

United States state institutions 1878–1956 ○ Natural causes

Fleet admiral who held both supreme US naval commands in the Second World War and pressed the Pacific counteroffensive

Graduating fourth in the Naval Academy class of 1901, he worked on submarine salvage and naval aviation, captained the carrier Lexington and headed the Bureau of Aeronautics. Shortly after Pearl Harbor he became Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and in March 1942 Chief of Naval Operations as well, holding the navy's operations, planning and administration and sitting on the Joint and Combined Chiefs of Staff. Before Midway he sided with OP-20-G in Washington against Station HYPO's forecast, and afterwards he rejected Nimitz's recommendation of a medal for Rochefort. Immediately after the victory at Midway he proposed the Solomon Islands operation and pushed through the landing on Guadalcanal. He was made fleet admiral in 1944.

Also known as: Ernest Joseph King