William Wirt Kimball | |
Birth Date: | 9 January 1848 |
Birth Place: | Paris, Maine |
Death Place: | Washington, D.C. |
Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
Allegiance: | United States of America |
Branch: | United States Navy |
Serviceyears: | 1869–1910 |
Rank: | Rear Admiral |
Battles: | Spanish–American War |
William Wirt Kimball (January 9, 1848 – January 26, 1930) was a U.S. naval officer and an early pioneer in the development of submarines.
Kimball was born in Paris, Maine. In 1869 he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.
After serving on early navy torpedo boats, Kimball designed machine guns and armored cars, and switched to the development of submarines in the 1890s.
He commanded the Atlantic torpedo-boat fleet in the Spanish–American War.
In May 1906, he served as the first commander of the battleship New Jersey. In 1908, Kimball became rear admiral, and commanded expeditionary forces to Nicaragua in 1909. In 1910, he retired from active duty.
He died in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1930, at the age of 82.