Which US Navy aircraft carrier is considered the first operational carrier?

The USS Langley is recognized as the first operational aircraft carrier in the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1922, the USS Langley was originally a collier ship before being converted into a carrier. Its design included a flight deck for launching and recovering aircraft, which was a groundbreaking step in naval aviation. This carrier played a significant role in establishing the concepts and practices of naval aviation that would be further developed in subsequent carriers.

The other choices, while important in their own right, came after the USS Langley. The USS Nimitz is a nuclear-powered carrier and part of a later generation of carriers, similarly to the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS George Washington, both of which were also built much later and benefited from technological advancements that originated from the innovations introduced with the USS Langley.