Inspirational Quotes by Hyman G. Rickover (American Admiral)

Hyman G. Rickover (1900–86,) fully Hyman George Rickover, was an American naval officer and engineer who was the moving force behind creating the American nuclear submarine fleet. He also oversaw plans for harnessing atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Rickover was infamous for his public temper tantrums and his bitter criticism of the military establishment.

Born in Maków Mazowiecki, Russia, now in Poland, Rickover was taken to the U.S. as a child. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1922. In 1929, he received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University.

Rickover’s most outstanding achievement was the leadership of the team that successfully adapted nuclear reactors as a means of ship propulsion. The USS Nautilus, launched in 1954, was the world’s first atomic submarine.

Concurrently, Rickover directed research on reactor development for the Atomic Energy Commission. He helped develop the first American full-scale, civilian-use nuclear power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania (1956–57.) He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (1953,) vice-admiral (1959,) and admiral (1973.) His leadership in nuclear propulsion and power generation was influential in developing a culture where safety was supreme.

Francis Duncan wrote Rickover and the Nuclear Navy (1990.)

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