1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Benson, William Shepherd

BENSON, WILLIAM SHEPHERD (1855-⁠), American naval officer, was born at Macon, Ga., Sept. 25 1855. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1877, and after various promotions became captain in 1909 and rear-admiral in 1915. He had been commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard two years when, in 1915, he was appointed chief of naval operations. He was a member of the commission appointed to confer with the Allied Powers in 1917, naval representative in drawing up terms of the Armistice, and naval adviser to the American Peace Commission. He was retired automatically in 1919 and made admiral for life.