(1859–1935), British admiral. John Jellicoe was born on Dec. 5, 1859, in Southampton, England. He entered the Navy as a cadet in 1872 and was trained at the Royal Naval College. He took part in China's Boxer Rebellion in 1900. From 1902 to 1914 Jellicoe served in a number of posts, eventually reaching the rank of admiral. During World War I he commanded the fleet in the battle of Jutland on May 31, 1915. It was the one major naval confrontation of the war. Although there was no clear winner, the British succeeded in keeping the German high-seas fleet bottled up in the North Sea for the rest of the war. At the end of 1916 he was appointed first sea lord but was forced to retire from the Admiralty in 1917. In 1919 Jellicoe became admiral of the fleet and in 1920 governor of New Zealand. He died in London on Nov. 20, 1935.