William S . Benson William Shepherd Benson ( 25 September 1855 – 20 May 1932 ) was an Admiral in the United States Navy and the first Chief of Naval Operations ( CNO ) , holding the post throughout World War I . Biography . Born in Bibb County , Georgia , Benson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877 . His early years of sea duty included cruise around the World in " Dolphin " during the 1880s . He was also active in coast survey and hydrographic duties , was an instructor at the Naval Academy , commanded the cruiser " Albany " ( CL - 23 ) and served as a flag aide , in addition to other assignments . In 1909 , Benson was promoted to Captain and became Chief of Staff of the US Pacific Fleet . In 1911 , Benson became the first Commanding Officer of the battleship " Utah " ( BB - 31 ) . He was Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1913 - 15 . Chief of Naval Operations . In May 1915 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and became the Navy ' s first Chief of Naval Operations ( CNO ) , functionally replacing Rear Admiral Bradley A . Fiske , the last Aide for Naval Operations . Benson was heavily involved in defining the functions of the new CNO position and strengthening the Navy during a period marked by internal Navy Department tensions , U . S . interventions in the Caribbean and Central America , and the world war . Promoted to the rank of Admiral in 1916 , his responsibilities greatly expanded when the United States entered the First World War in April 1917 . Over the next year and a half , he oversaw a huge expansion of the Navy , the extension of its operations to European waters and the transportation of the Army ' s American Expeditionary Forces to [ France . After the November 1918 Armistice , he was an active participant in the lengthy peace negotiations held in France . Aviation . In World War I the Navy explored aviation , both land - based and carrier based . However the Navy nearly abolished aviation in 1919 when Benson could not " . . . conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation , " and he secretly tried to abolish the Navy ' s Aviation Division . However , Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D . Roosevelt reversed the decision because he believed naval aviation might someday be " the principal factor " at sea with missions to bomb enemy warships , scout enemy fleets , map mine fields , and escort convoys . Grudgingly allowing it a minor mission , the Navy slowly built up its aviation arm . U . S . Naval Aviation later proved to be the decisive advantage for the U . S Navy that ensured victory during World War II , the duration of the Cold War , and it remains today as the ceneterpiec of the combat striking arms of the United States Navy . Retirement . Benson retired from the Naval service in September 1919 . Over the next decade , he was active in the leadership of the U . S . Shipping Board . Admiral William S . Benson died in Washington , D . C . His mother , Catherine Brewer Benson , was the first woman to receive a degree from a chartered college , Georgia Female College ( now Wesleyan College ) . His son Commodore Howard Hartwell James Benson , also a career Navy officer , received the Navy Cross and Legion of Merit . Namesake . USS " Benson " ( DD - 421 ) and USS " Admiral W . S . Benson " ( AP - 120 ) were named in his honor .