# Colby Mitchell Chester

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{{Short description|United States Navy admiral (1844–1932)}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name               = Colby Mitchell Chester
| image              = Adm. C.M. Chester LCCN2014716075 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Rear Admiral Chester, 1900
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1844|2|29}}
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1932|5|4|1844|2|29}}
| burial_label       = Place of burial
| burial_place       = [Arlington National Cemetery](/source/Arlington_National_Cemetery)
| birth_place        = [New London, Connecticut](/source/New_London%2C_Connecticut), U.S.
| death_place        = [Rye, New York](/source/Rye_(town)%2C_New_York), U.S.
| burial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname           = 
| allegiance         = United States
| branch             = 25px [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy)
| service_years      = 1863–1909, 1917
| rank               = [Rear admiral](/source/Rear_Admiral_(United_States))
| unit               = 
| commands           = {{USS|Cincinnati|C-7|2}}<br />{{USS|Kentucky|BB-6|2}}
| battles            = [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War)<br />[Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War)<br />[World War I](/source/World_War_I)
| awards             = 
| relations          = 
| other_work         = 
}}
'''Colby Mitchell Chester''' (February 29, 1844 – May 4, 1932) was a United States Navy admiral. He is the only naval officer to have actively served in the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War), and [World War I](/source/World_War_I).

==Early life==
Chester was born in [New London, Connecticut](/source/New_London%2C_Connecticut), on 29 February 1844, and graduated from the [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy) in 1863.

==Military career==
In 1864, Chester participated in operations against [Mobile, Alabama](/source/Mobile%2C_Alabama), aboard the {{USS|Richmond|1860|2}}, part of the squadron commanded by Admiral [David G. Farragut](/source/David_G._Farragut). He served in the [Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) for 46 more years.

He was [Commandant of Cadets](/source/List_of_Commandants_of_Cadets_of_the_United_States_Military_Academy) at the [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy) in 1891–94; commanded the {{USS|Cincinnati|C-7|2}}, flagship of the [South Atlantic squadron](/source/South_Atlantic_Squadron) during the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War); became commanding officer of {{USS|Kentucky|BB-6|2}} upon her commissioning on May 15, 1900, until 1901, and became superintendent of the [U.S. Naval Observatory](/source/United_States_Naval_Observatory) in 1902, and retired on February 28, 1906.

Chester's active-service record was extended to February 28, 1909, to round out a full 50-year service career with the U.S. Navy.  He was recalled to special duty in 1917, during World War I, as the first [commandant](/source/commandant) of the [Navy ROTC](/source/Naval_ROTC) units at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) and [Brown University](/source/Brown_University).

In 1923 he traveled to [Turkey](/source/Turkey) at the head of the Americans who participated in an agreement called the [Chester concession](/source/Chester_concession).

==Personal life and family==
Chester married Melancia Antoinette Tremaine (1847–1923) in 1873.<ref>https://findingaids.loc.gov/exist_collections/ead3pdf/mss/2010/ms010004.pdf Colby Mitchell Chester papers, Library of Congress, p. 3</ref> They had at least one child, Colby Mitchell Chester Jr. (1877–1965), the first president of [General Foods](/source/General_Foods) (originally the [Postum Cereal Company](/source/Postum_Cereal_Company)) from 1924 to 1935 and later chairman of the board from 1935 to 1943.

Chester died in [Rye, New York](/source/Rye_(town)%2C_New_York) in 1932 and is buried at [Arlington National Cemetery](/source/Arlington_National_Cemetery).<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdjaGVzdGVyEgVjb2xieRoBbQ--/ Burial Detail: Chester, Colby M] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016165543/https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdjaGVzdGVyEgVjb2xieRoBbQ--/ |date=2020-10-16 }} – ANC Explorer</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Colby Mitchell Chester}}
* {{citation |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cmchester.htm|title=Colby Mitchell Chester, Rear Admiral, United States Navy |date=6 March 2023 |id=an unofficial website  |publisher=ArlingtonCemetery.net}}<!-- Do not use for citations. This is a [WP:SPS](/source/WP%3ASPS) endeavor. -->

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, Colby Mitchell}}
Category:1844 births
Category:1932 deaths
Category:People from New London, Connecticut
Category:United States Naval Academy alumni
Category:Union navy officers
Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I
Category:United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)
Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Colby Mitchell Chester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colby_Mitchell_Chester) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colby_Mitchell_Chester?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.