born Jan. 26, 1887, Hillsboro, Wis., U.S.
died Feb. 3, 1947, Norfolk, Va.
U.S. naval officer.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. (1910), Mitscher qualified as the 33rd naval pilot in 1916. In the years that followed, he helped develop naval aviation and integrate it into the fleet. In World War II he commanded the aircraft carrier Hornet in the Battle of Midway . He later commanded aircraft carrier attacks in the battles of the Philippine Sea and Iwo Jima and Okinawa . In 1946 he was promoted to admiral and made commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic fleet.