Isoroku Yamamoto | |
---|---|
Native name | 山本 五十六 |
Born | Nagaoka, Niigata, Empire of Japan | April 4, 1884
Died | April 18, 1943 near Panguna, Bougainville, Territory of New Guinea | (aged 59)
Buried | Tama Cemetery, Tokyo[1] |
Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
Service | Japanese Navy |
Years of service | 1904–1943 |
Rank | Marshal Admiral (posthumous) |
Commands | Isuzu, Akagi, 1st Carrier Division, Naval Aviation Bureau, 1st Fleet, Combined Fleet, 1st Battleship Division[2] |
Battles / wars | |
Awards | |
Alma mater | Imperial Japanese Naval Academy Harvard University |
Spouse(s) |
Reiko Mihashi (m. 1918) |
Other work | Vice-Minister of the Navy |
Isoroku Yamamoto (山本 五十六, Yamamoto Isoroku, April 4, 1884 – April 18, 1943) was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Navy, and undertook many of its changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the commander-in-chief during the early years of the Pacific War and oversaw major engagements including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. Yamamoto was killed in April 1943 after American code breakers identified his flight plans, enabling the United States Army Air Forces to shoot down his aircraft.