Editing Hyman G. Rickover

{{short description|US Navy admiral}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox military person
| name          = Hyman G. Rickover
| image         = Hyman Rickover 1955.jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Official portrait, 1955
| birth_name    = Chaim Godalia Rickover
| nickname      = "Father of the Nuclear Navy"; "The Kindly Old Gentleman," or simply "KOG"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/11/14/rickover-is-forced-to-retire/aae1eb3a-b861-4162-bcd9-517598d3f1bf/|title=Rickover Is Forced To Retire|date=November 14, 1981|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/24/opinion/l-nuclear-power-plants-would-be-better-the-rickover-way-158986.html|title=Nuclear-Power Plants Would Be Better the Rickover Way|date=July 24, 1986|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1900|01|27|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Maków Mazowiecki]], [[Vistula Land]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1986|7|8|1900|1|27|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Arlington County, Virginia]], U.S.
| placeofburial = 
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1918–1982
| rank          = [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]
| unit          = 
| commands      = {{USS|Finch|AM-9|6}}<br/>[[Naval Reactors]]
| battles       = [[World War II]]
| awards        = [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] (3)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Congressional Gold Medal]] (2)<br/>[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<br/>[[Enrico Fermi Award]]
| alma_mater    = [[United States Naval Academy]]<br/>[[Columbia University]] ([[Education and training of electrical and electronics engineers|MSEE]])
| spouse        = Ruth D. Masters (1931–1972 (her death); 1 child)<br>Eleonore A. Bednowicz (1974–1986 (his death))
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Hyman G. Rickover''' (27 January 1900<ref name=USN-bio/> – 8 July 1986) was an [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]]. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. [[Naval Reactors]] office. In addition, he oversaw the development of the [[Shippingport Atomic Power Station]], the world's first commercial [[pressurized water reactor]] used for generating electricity.  Rickover is also one of seven people who have been awarded two [[List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients|Congressional Gold Medals]].

Rickover is known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy," and his influence on the Navy and its warships was of such scope that he "may well go down in history as one of the Navy's most important officers."<ref>PhD dissertation, "Commanding Men and Machines: Admiralship, Technology, and Ideology in the 20th Century U.S. Navy," Hagerott, Mark (2004)  http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/8525/umi-umd-5589.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y</ref> He served in a flag rank for nearly 30 years (1953 to 1982), ending his career as a four-star admiral. His years of service exceeded that of each of the U.S. Navy's five-star fleet admirals—[[William D. Leahy|Leahy]], [[Ernest King|King]], [[Chester W. Nimitz|Nimitz]] and [[William Halsey Jr.|Halsey]]—all of whom served on [[Fleet admiral (United States)|active duty for life]] after their appointments. Rickover's total of 63 years of active duty service makes him the longest-serving naval officer, as well as the longest-serving member of the U.S armed forces in history.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z095cIB0coAC&pg=PA87 |title=Rickover|access-date=2014-12-12|isbn=978-1574887044|last1=Allen|first1=Thomas B.|last2=Polmar|first2=Norman|date=2007|publisher=Potomac Books }}</ref><ref name=USN-bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/rickover.htm|title=Admiral Hyman G. Rickover – Biography|publisher=History.navy.mil|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-date=February 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210172002/http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/rickover.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Lurie on Rickover"/>

Having become a naval [[engineering duty officer]] (EDO) in 1937 after serving as both a surface ship and [[Submarine Warfare insignia|submarine-qualified]] [[unrestricted line officer]], his substantial legacy of technical achievements includes the United States Navy's continuing record of zero reactor accidents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/hyman-g-rickover|title = Hyman G. Rickover}}</ref><ref name="bowman" />

==Early life and education==
Rickover was born Chaim Gdala Rykower to Abraham and Rachel/Ruchla Lea (nee Unger) Rykower, a Polish Jewish family from [[Maków Mazowiecki]] in [[Vistula Land]]. His parents changed his name to "Hyman" which is derived from [[Chayyim]], meaning "life". He did not use his middle name Godalia (a form of ''[[Gedaliah]]''), but he substituted "George" when at the Naval Academy.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=https://www.cee.org/sites/default/files/media-pdfs/Admiral_Rickover_brought_the_nuclear_age_to_the_US_Navy.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cee.org/sites/default/files/media-pdfs/Admiral_Rickover_brought_the_nuclear_age_to_the_US_Navy.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|via=The Center for Excellence in Education|website=examiner.com|date=2015-08-02|first=Karen|last=Holt|title=Admiral Rickover brought the nuclear age to the US Navy}}</ref>

In 1906 (aged six), Rickover made passage to New York City with his mother and sister, fleeing anti-Semitic Russian [[pogrom]]s<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=piQvAQAAIAAJ&q=pogroms|title=Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present: N–S|access-date=2014-12-12|isbn=978-0787617554|last1=Narins|first1=Brigham|date=2001|publisher=Gale }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C49YAAAAYAAJ&q=rickover+pogroms|title=Encyclopedia of American Immigration: Paper sons |quote= Born to a Jewish family in a part of Poland under Russian rule in 1900, Rickover fled with his parents to the United States in 1905 in an effort to avoid Russian-instigated pogroms.|via=Books.goole.com|isbn=978-1587656026 |year=2010 |last1=Bankston |first1=Carl Leon |publisher=Salem Press }}</ref> during the [[Revolution of 1905]]. They joined Abraham, who had made earlier trips there beginning in 1897 to become established.<ref>{{cite book|last=Duncan|first=Francis|title=Rickover : the struggle for excellence|year=2001|publisher=Naval Inst. Press|location=Annapolis, Md.|isbn=1-55750-177-7|page=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVwJ9hOTGMMC&pg=PA4|edition=1. print.}}</ref> Rickover's family lived initially on the [[East Side of Manhattan]] but moved two years later to [[North Lawndale, Chicago]], which was a heavily Jewish neighborhood at the time, where Rickover's father continued work as a tailor. Rickover took his first paid job at age nine, earning three cents an hour ({{Inflation|US|0.03|1909|r=2|fmt=eq}}) for holding a light as his neighbor operated a machine. Later, he delivered groceries. He graduated from grammar school at 14.<ref name="time1954">{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | title = The Man in Tempo 3 | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-06 | date = 1954-01-11 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819338-2,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233511/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819338-2,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-55750-177-6 | page = 7 | last = Duncan | first = Francis | title = Rickover: the struggle for excellence | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Inst. Press | location = Annapolis, Md.}}</ref>

Rickover attended [[John Marshall Metropolitan High School]] in Chicago and graduated with honors in 1918. He then held a full-time job as a telegraph boy delivering [[Western Union]] telegrams, through which he became acquainted with Congressman [[Adolph J. Sabath]], a Czech Jewish immigrant. Sabath nominated Rickover for appointment to the [[United States Naval Academy]]. Rickover was only a third alternate for appointment, but he passed the entrance exam and was accepted.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-471-12296-3 | page = 21 | last = Rockwell | first = Theodore | title = The Rickover Effect | year = 1995 | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | location = Brooklyn, NY }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-58566-068-1 | page = 23 | last = Adams | first = Chris | title = Inside the Cold War | year = 1999 | publisher = Air University Press | location = Maxwell Air Force Base, AL}}</ref>

== Naval career through World War II ==
Rickover's naval career began in 1918 at the Naval Academy; at this time, attending military academies was considered active duty service, due in part to [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holzwarth |first1=Larry |date=2022-03-31 |title=This Cantankerous Engineer Built the United States Nuclear Navy |url=https://historycollection.com/this-cantankerous-engineer-built-the-united-states-nuclear-navy/ |access-date=4 November 2023 |website=historycollection.com |publisher=History Collection}}</ref> On 2 June 1922, Rickover graduated 107th out of 540 midshipmen and was commissioned as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVwJ9hOTGMMC&q=Rickover+graduated+540&pg=PA16|title=Rickover|access-date=2014-12-12|isbn=978-1557501776|last1=Duncan|first1=Francis|year=2001|publisher=Naval Institute Press }}</ref> He joined the [[destroyer]] {{USS|La Vallette|DD-315|2}} on 5 September 1922. Rickover impressed his commanding officer with his hard work and efficiency, and was made engineer officer on 21 June 1923, becoming the youngest such officer in the [[Squadron (army)|squadron]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-57488-704-4 | page = xiii | last = Allen | first = Thomas B. |author2=Norman Polmar | title = Rickover | year = 2007 | publisher = Brassey's | location = Dulles, VA}}</ref>

He next served on board the [[battleship]] {{USS|Nevada|BB-36|2}} before earning a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[electrical engineering]] from [[Columbia University]] in 1930<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsnbAgAAQBAJ&q=hyman+rickover+columbia&pg=PA107|title=A Lever Long Enough: A History of Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science Since 1864|first=Robert|last=McCaughey|date= 2014|publisher=Columbia University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0231537520}}</ref> by way of a year at the [[Naval Postgraduate School]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.edu/About/NPSHistory/History.html|title=History of NPS – Naval Postgraduate School|website=www.nps.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701053235/http://www.nps.edu/About/NPSHistory/History.html|archive-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> and further coursework at Columbia. At the latter institution, he met Ruth D. Masters, a graduate student in international law, whom he married in 1931 after she returned from her doctoral studies at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] in Paris. Shortly after marrying, Rickover wrote to his parents of his decision to become an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]], remaining so for the remainder of his life.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-0-7425-3699-9 | page = 29 | last = Domhoff | first = G. William |author2=Richard L. Zweigenhaft | title = Diversity in the Power Elite | year = 2006 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Pub. | location = Lanham, MD }}</ref><ref>[http://uticaphoenix.net/voices-of-polonia-admiral-hyman-rickover/ Utica Phoenix: "Voices of Polonia: Admiral Hyman Rickover" by Ted Rajchel] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130413210314/http://uticaphoenix.net/voices-of-polonia-admiral-hyman-rickover/ |date=2013-04-13 }} February 8, 2013.</ref>

Rickover had a high regard for the quality of the education he received at Columbia, as demonstrated in this excerpt from a speech he gave at the university some 52 years after attending:

<blockquote>Columbia was the first institution that encouraged me to think rather than memorize. My teachers were notable in that many had gained practical engineering experience outside the university and were able to share their experience with their students. I am grateful, among others, to Professors Morecroft, Hehre, and Arendt. Much of what I have subsequently learned and accomplished in engineering is based on the solid foundation of principles I learned from them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.validlab.com/administration/rickover.html|title=Doing a Job|publisher=Validlab.com|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref></blockquote>

Rickover preferred life on smaller ships, and he also knew that young officers in the [[submarine]] service were advancing quickly, so he went to Washington and volunteered for submarine duty. His application was turned down due to his age, at that time 29 years. Fortunately for Rickover, he encountered his former commanding officer from ''Nevada'' while leaving the building, who interceded successfully on his behalf. From 1929 to 1933, Rickover qualified for submarine duty and command aboard the submarines {{USS|S-9|SS-114|2}} and {{USS|S-48|SS-159|2}}.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-0-595-25270-1 | page = 29 | last = Rockwell | first = Theodore | title = The Rickover Effect | year = 2002 | publisher = IUniverse | location = Lincoln, NE }}</ref> While aboard S-48 he was addressed a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy "for rescuing Augustin Pasis… from drowning at the Submarine Base, [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama_Canal_Zone|Canal Zone]]."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bureau of Navigation Bulletin No 159, 13 June 1931 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/25/2002162044/-1/-1/1/AH193106.PDF |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/25/2002162044/-1/-1/1/AH193106.PDF |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=Bureau of Navigation |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> While at the Office of the Inspector of Naval Material in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] in 1933, Rickover translated ''Das Unterseeboot'' (''The Submarine'') by [[World War I]] [[Kaiserliche Marine|German Imperial Navy]] Admiral [[Hermann Bauer]]. Rickover's translation became a basic text for the U.S. submarine service.<ref name="auto2"/>

On 17 July 1937, he reported aboard the [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] {{USS|Finch|AM-9|2}} at [[Qingdao]], [[China]], and assumed what would be his only ship command with additional duty as Commander, Mine Division Three, Asiatic Fleet. The [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]] had occurred ten days earlier. In August, ''Finch'' stood out for Shanghai to protect American citizens and interests from the conflict between Chinese and Japanese forces. On 25 September, Rickover was promoted to lieutenant commander, retroactive to 1 July. In October, his designation as an engineering duty officer became effective, and he was relieved of his three-month command of ''Finch'' at Shanghai on 5 October 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00040789/00093|title=American submariner|website=ufdc.ufl.edu}}</ref>

Rickover was assigned to the [[Cavite Navy Yard]] in the Philippines, and was transferred shortly thereafter to the Bureau of Engineering in Washington, D.C. Once there, he took up his duties as assistant chief of the Electrical section of the Bureau of Engineering on 15 August 1939.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-55750-177-6 | pages = 63–71 | last = Duncan | first = Francis | title = Rickover | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Inst. Press | location = Annapolis, MD}}</ref>

On 10 April 1942, after America's entry into [[World War II]], Rickover flew to [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] to organize repairs to the electrical power plant of {{USS|California|BB-44|6}}.<ref>{{cite web | title = Salvage and repair of USS California, December 1941 – October 1942 | access-date = 2009-03-06 | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-ca9.htm | archive-date = January 22, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120122104549/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-ca9.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> Rickover had been promoted to the rank of [[Commander (United States)|commander]] on 1 January 1942, and in late June of that year was made a temporary [[Captain (United States)|captain]]. In late 1944 he appealed for a transfer to an active command. He was sent to investigate inefficiencies at the naval supply depot at [[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania]], then was appointed in July 1945 to command of a ship repair facility on [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-55750-177-6 | pages = 71–77 | last = Duncan | first = Francis | title = Rickover | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Inst. Press | location = Annapolis, MD}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, his command was destroyed by [[Typhoon Louise (1945)|Typhoon Louise]], and he subsequently spent some time helping to teach school to Okinawan children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/03/21/message-to-the-fleet-go-lead-yourself/|title=Message to the Fleet: Go lead yourself!|first=Lt Cmdr Jimmy|last=Drennan|date=April 18, 2019|website=Navy Times}}</ref>

Later in the war, his service as head of the Electrical Section in the Bureau of Ships brought him a [[Legion of Merit]] and gave him experience in directing large development programs, choosing talented technical people, and working closely with private industry. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine featured him on the cover of its 11 January 1954 issue. The accompanying article described his wartime service:<ref>Polmar; Allen (1982). pp. 109–110; 671 pp.</ref>

<blockquote>Sharp-tongued Hyman Rickover spurred his men to exhaustion, ripped through red tape, drove contractors into rages. He went on making enemies, but by the end of the war he had won the rank of captain. He had also won a reputation as a man ''who gets things done.''<ref name=time1954/></blockquote>

== Naval Reactors and the Atomic Energy Commission ==

{{See also|Naval Reactors}}

[[File:Hyman Rickover inspecting USS Nautilus.jpg|upright|right|thumb|Admiral Rickover aboard USS ''Nautilus'', the world's first nuclear-powered vessel. "I did not recruit extraordinary people. I recruited people who had extraordinary potential—and then I trained them"]]
In December 1945, Rickover was appointed [[Inspector General]] of the [[19th Fleet]] on the west coast, and was assigned to work with [[General Electric]] at [[Schenectady]], [[New York (state)|New York]], to develop a nuclear propulsion plant for destroyers. In 1946, an initiative was begun at the [[Manhattan Project]]'s Clinton Laboratory (now the [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]) to develop a nuclear electric generating plant. Realizing the potential that nuclear energy held for the Navy,<ref name="Lurie on Rickover">{{cite web |last1=Lurie |first1=Margaret |title=Recollection from Margaret Lurie |url=https://ussrickover.org/rcl-margaret-lurie |website=USS Hyman G. Rickover Commissioning Committee |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> Rickover applied. Rickover was sent to Oak Ridge through the efforts of his wartime boss, Rear Admiral Earle Mills, who became the head of the Navy's [[Bureau of Ships]] that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legion.org/distinguishedservicemedal/1983/adm-hyman-c-rickover|title=Adm. Hyman C. Rickover &#124; Distinguished Service Medal &#124; The American Legion|website=www.legion.org|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207195325/https://www.legion.org/distinguishedservicemedal/1983/adm-hyman-c-rickover|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rickover became an early convert to the idea of [[nuclear marine propulsion]], and was the driving force for shifting the Navy's initial focus from applications on destroyers to submarines.<ref>{{cite web | title = Ross Gunn, May 12, 1897 – October 15, 1966 | author= Philip H. Abelson | access-date = 2009-03-08 | url = http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/rgunn.html }}</ref> Rickover's vision was not initially shared by his immediate superiors:<ref name="Lurie on Rickover"/> he was recalled from Oak Ridge and assigned "advisory duties" with an office in an abandoned ladies' room in the Navy Building. He subsequently went around several layers of superior officers, and in 1947 went directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, [[Chester W. Nimitz|Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz]], also a former submariner. Nimitz immediately understood the potential of nuclear propulsion in submarines and recommended the project to the Secretary of the Navy, [[John L. Sullivan (Navy)|John L. Sullivan]]. Sullivan's endorsement to build the world's first nuclear-powered vessel, {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571|6}}, later caused Rickover to state that Sullivan was "the true father of the Nuclear Navy."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Rickover&pg=PA104|title=Life|access-date=2014-12-12|date=1958-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20111216-ENTERTAIN-112160303|title=Rye resident writes biography / readings & signings|work=seacoastonline.com|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-date=January 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112040925/http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20111216-ENTERTAIN-112160303|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book|url=https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/04/f50/DuncanRickoverandtheNuclearNavyComplete_1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/04/f50/DuncanRickoverandtheNuclearNavyComplete_1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Rickover and the Nuclear Navy |via=Department of Energy |date=1990 |first=Francis |last=Duncan |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-236-2}}</ref>

Subsequently, Rickover became chief of a new section in the [[Bureau of Ships]], the Nuclear Power Division reporting to Mills. He began work with [[Alvin M. Weinberg]], the Oak Ridge director of research, to initiate and develop the [[Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology]] and to begin the design of the [[pressurized water reactor]] for submarine propulsion.<ref>{{cite web | title = ORNL Review Vol. 25, Nos. 3 and 4, 2002 | access-date = 2009-03-08 | url = http://www.ornl.net/info/ornlreview/rev25-34/chapter3sb8.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071021213713/http://www.ornl.net/info/ornlreview/rev25-34/chapter3sb8.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2007-10-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/node/21549101 | newspaper=The Economist | title=From squash court to submarine | date=2012-03-10}}</ref> In February 1949 he was assigned to the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]]'s Division of Reactor Development, and then assumed control of the Navy's effort within the AEC as Director of the [[Naval Reactors]] Branch.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dW4uAAAAIAAJ&q=%22H.+G.+Rickover%2C+head+of+the+Nuclear+Power+Division%2C+Bureau+of+Ships%2C+Department+of+Navy%2C+and+chief+of+the+Naval+Reactor+Branch%22&pg=SL4-PA65|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress|first=United States|last=Congress|date=December 9, 1951|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|via=Google Books}}</ref> This twin role enabled him to lead the effort to develop ''Nautilus''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-r/rickover-hyman-g.html|title=Rickover, Hyman G.|website=NHHC}}</ref>

The original selection of Rickover as head of development of the nation's nuclear submarine program ultimately rested with Admiral Mills. According to Lieutenant General [[Leslie Groves]], director of the Manhattan Project, Mills was anxious to have a very determined man involved. He knew that Rickover was "not too easy to get along with" and "not too popular," but in his judgement Rickover was the man on whom the Navy could depend "no matter what opposition he might encounter".<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-0-306-80189-1 | page = 388 | last = Groves | first = Leslie R. |author2=Edward Teller | title = Now it can be told | year = 1983 | publisher = Da Capo Press | location = New York}}</ref>

While his team and industry were completing construction of ''Nautilus'', Rickover was promoted to the rank of [[Rear Admiral (United States)|rear admiral]] in 1953. However, this was anything but routine, and occurred only after an extraordinary chain of events:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hyman G. Rickover|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/hyman-g-rickover|access-date=2020-06-27|website=Atomic Heritage Foundation|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hyman-G-Rickover|title=Hyman G. Rickover &#124; United States admiral|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=July 4, 2023 }}</ref>

<blockquote>[Rickover's] peers in the Navy’s engineer branch thought to get rid of him through failure of promotion above captain. This would entail automatic retirement at the thirty-year mark. But someone made the case to the U.S. Senate, charged by the Constitution with formal confirmation of military promotions. In that year, 1953, two years before ''Nautilus'' first went to sea, the Senate failed to give its usual perfunctory approval of the Navy admiral promotion list, and the press was outraged because Rickover's name was not on it. ... Ultimately an enlightened Secretary of the Navy, [[Robert B. Anderson (Texas politician)|Robert B. Anderson]], ordered a special selection board to sit. With some shuffling of feet it did what it had been ordered to do.... Ninety-five percent of Navy captains must retire regardless of how highly qualified because there are only vacancies for 5 percent of them to become admirals, and although vindictiveness has sometimes played a part in determining who shall fail of selection for promotion (thus also violating the system), never before or since have pressures from outside the Navy overturned this form of career-termination.<ref name="auto1"/></blockquote>

Regardless of the challenges faced in developing and operating brand-new technology, Rickover and the team did not disappoint: the result was a highly reliable nuclear reactor in a form-factor that would fit into a submarine hull with no more than a {{convert|28|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Beam (nautical)|beam]].<ref>{{Cite book | page = 134 | last = Blair | first = Clay | title = The Atomic Submarine and Admiral Rickover | year = 1954 }}</ref> This became known as the [[S1W reactor]]. ''Nautilus'' was launched and commissioned with this reactor in 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/reactors/lwr3.shtml|title=Light Water Reactors Technology Development|website=www.ne.anl.gov}}</ref>

Later Rickover oversaw the development of the [[Shippingport Atomic Power Station]], the first commercial pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. [[Kenneth Nichols]] of the AEC decided that the Rickover-Westinghouse pressurized-water reactor was "the best choice for a reactor to demonstrate the production of electricity" with Rickover "having a going organization and a reactor project under way that now had no specific use to justify it." This was a reference to the first core used at Shippingport originating from a cancelled [[Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear-powered]] [[aircraft carrier]].<ref>J. C. Clayton, "[http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/25/025/25025940.pdf The Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor and Light Water Breeder Reactor]", Westinghouse Report WAPD-T-3007, 1993.</ref> This was accepted by [[Lewis Strauss]] and the Commission in January 1954.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nichols |first=Kenneth |date=1987 |title=The Road to Trinity: A Personal Account of How America's Nuclear Policies Were Made |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow |isbn=068806910X |pages=326–27}}</ref>

Rickover was promoted to [[Vice Admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] in 1958, the same year that he was awarded the first of two [[Congressional Gold Medal]]s.<ref>{{citation |url=http://sul-derivatives.stanford.edu/derivative?CSNID=00001534&mediaType=application/pdf |date=1959 |location=Washington, DC |title=Review of Naval Reactor Program and Admiral Rickover Award |publisher=United States Government Priniting Office |author=Joint Committee on Atomic Energy |via=Stanford University }}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He exercised tight control for the next three decades over the ships, technology, and personnel of the nuclear Navy, interviewing and approving or denying every prospective officer being considered for a nuclear ship. Over the course of Rickover's career, these personal interviews numbered in the tens of thousands; over 14,000 interviews were with recent college-graduates alone. The interviewees ranged from midshipmen and newly commissioned [[Ensign (rank)|ensigns]] destined for nuclear-powered submarines and surface combatants, to very senior combat-experienced [[Naval Aviator]] [[Captain (United States O-6)|captains]] who sought command of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The content of most of these interviews has been lost to history, though some were later chronicled in several books on Rickover's career, as well as in a [http://vimeo.com/56270169 rare personal interview] with [[Diane Sawyer]] in 1984.<ref name="people">{{cite web
 | title = Rickover Interview | url = http://www.people.vcu.edu/~rsleeth/Rickover.html|publisher=People.vcu.edu
 | access-date = 2009-03-08 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Asking Tough Questions | access-date = 2009-03-08 | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asking-tough-questions/ | publisher = Cbsnews.com – CBS News | date = 2003-05-16 | archive-date = October 18, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018065950/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/16/60minutes/main554312.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rickover|first=Hyman G.|title=Doing a Job|url=http://www.validlab.com/administration/rickover.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226221727/http://www.validlab.com/administration/rickover.html|archive-date=2017-02-26|access-date=2020-06-26|website=www.validlab.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Rayburn | first = Kevin | url = http://louisville.edu/ur/ucomm/mags/winter2007/rickover.html | title = The Rickover Effect: Speed grads remember working with 'Father of the Nuclear Navy' | journal = UofL | date = 2003-03-01 | volume = 25 | issue = 2 | publisher = University of Louisville | access-date = 2009-04-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110930090300/http://louisville.edu/ur/ucomm/mags/winter2007/rickover.html | archive-date = 2011-09-30 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/abc/10_questions_for_diane_sawyer_158703.asp|title=10 Questions for Diane Sawyer|publisher=Mediabistro.com|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625154021/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/abc/10_questions_for_diane_sawyer_158703.asp|archive-date=2010-06-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1973, though his role and responsibilities remained unchanged, Rickover was promoted to the rank of four-star [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]].<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-09-mn-14301-story.html|title=Rickover, Creator of U.S. Nuclear Navy, Dies at 86|date=July 9, 1986|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>  This was the second time (after [[Samuel Murray Robinson]]) in the history of the U.S. Navy that an officer with a career path other than an operational line officer achieved that rank. Because his responsibilities did not include direct command and control of combatant naval units, technically Rickover was appointed to the grade of admiral on the retired list so as to provide some clarity on this issue. This was also done to avoid affecting the maximum-authorized number of admirals (O-10) on the "active list."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/r/rickover-promotion.html|title=Hyman G. Rickover's Promotion to Admiral [H.A.S.C. 93-16]|website=NHHC}}</ref>

As head of Naval Reactors, Rickover's focus and responsibilities were dedicated to reactor safety rather than tactical or strategic submarine warfare training. However, this extreme focus was well known during Rickover's era as a potential hindrance to balancing operational priorities. One way that this was addressed after Rickover retired was that only the very strongest, former at-sea submarine commanders have held Rickover's now unique eight-year position as [[Naval Reactors|NAVSEA-08]], the longest chartered tenure in the U.S. military.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/45608main_NNBE_Progress_Report2_7-15-03.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/45608main_NNBE_Progress_Report2_7-15-03.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=NASA/Navy Benchmarking Exchange (NNBE) Volume II|publisher=Nasa.gov|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12344.html|title=Executive Orders|date=25 October 2010|publisher=Archives.gov|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref> From Rickover's first replacement, [[Kinnaird R. McKee]], to today's head of Naval Reactors, [[William J. Houston]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=90649|title=Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Change of Command|first=Tom Dougan, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Public|last=Affairs|access-date=August 22, 2015|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921153246/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=90649|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/breaking-news/2015/07/22/nr-naval-nuclear-reactors-caldwell-richardson-greenert-rickover-submarine-navy/30539765/|title=Pentagon Names Next Director of Naval Nuclear Reactors|date=July 22, 2015 |publisher=defensenews.com|access-date=2015-08-16}}</ref> all have held command of nuclear submarines, their squadrons and ocean fleets, but none have been a long-term [[Submarine Engineering Duty insignia|Engineering Duty Officer]] such as Rickover.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=70471|title=Navy Gets New Nuclear Propulsion Boss|author=Tom Dougan, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Public Affairs|publisher=Navy.mil|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626131014/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=70471|url-status=dead}}</ref>  In keeping with Rickover's promotion to four-star admiral, those who were subsequently selected for assignment to Director, Naval Reactors are promoted to this same rank, but also on active duty status.

Historian Francis Duncan, who for over eight years was granted generous access to diverse numbers and levels of witnesses—including U.S. presidents—as well as Rickover himself,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rickover-and-the-nuclear-navy-francis-duncan/1121795147|title=Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology&#124;Hardcover|first=Barnes &|last=Noble|website=Barnes & Noble}}</ref> came to the conclusion that the man was best understood with respect to a guiding principle that Rickover invoked foremost for both himself and those who served in the U.S. Navy's nuclear propulsion program: "exercise of the concept of responsibility."<ref name="auto1" /> This is further evidenced by Rickover listing ''responsibility'' as his first [[principle]] in his final-years paper and speech, ''Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/morgenthau/763|title = Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life &#124; Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/morgenthau/763/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/763_2ndMML-H.G.Rickover.pdf|publisher=Council on Religion and International Affairs|location=New York|title=Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life|first=Rickover|last=Hyman|date=1982|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710040709/https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/morgenthau/763/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/763_2ndMML-H.G.Rickover.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nielsolson.us/Writing/RickoverRotaryAddress10FEB77.html|title=Rickover Rotary Address|website=nielsolson.us}}</ref>

=== Safety record ===
Rickover's stringent standards are largely credited with being responsible for the U.S. Navy's continuing record of zero reactor accidents (defined as the uncontrolled release of fission products to the environment resulting from damage to a reactor core).<ref name=bowman>{{cite web | title = Statement of Admiral F. L. "Skip" Bowman | date = 2003-10-29 | access-date = 2009-03-08 | url = http://www.navy.mil/navydata/testimony/safety/bowman031029.txt | archive-date = June 29, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060629082752/https://www.navy.mil/navydata/testimony/safety/bowman031029.txt | url-status = dead }}</ref> He made it a point to be aboard during the initial sea trial of almost every nuclear submarine completing its new-construction period.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Power at Sea, Vol 3: A Violent Peace, 1946–2006|url=https://archive.org/details/poweratseabreaki02libg|url-access=limited|last=Rose|first=Lisle A.|publisher=University of Missouri|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/poweratseabreaki02libg/page/n73 55]}}</ref> Following the [[Three Mile Island accident]] on March 28, 1979, Admiral Rickover was asked to testify before Congress in the general context of answering the question as to why naval nuclear propulsion had succeeded in achieving a record of zero reactor-accidents, as opposed to the dramatic one that had just taken place.<ref name="bowman" />

The accident-free record of United States Navy reactor operations stands in some very stark contrast to those of the Soviet Union, which had [[Nuclear submarine#Accidents|fourteen known reactor accidents]]. As stated in a retrospective analysis in October 2007:

<blockquote>U.S. submarines far outperformed the Soviet ones in the crucial area of stealth, and Rickover's obsessive fixation on safety and quality control gave the U.S. nuclear Navy a vastly superior safety record to the Soviet one.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Sieff | first = Martin | title = BMD Focus: O'Reilly moves up&nbsp;– Part 1 | work = UPI Energy| date = 2007-10-04 }}</ref></blockquote>

=== Views on nuclear power ===
Given Rickover's single-minded focus on naval nuclear propulsion, design, and operations, it came as a surprise to many<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jec.senate.gov/reports/97th%20Congress/Economics%20of%20Defense%20Policy%20-%20Adm.%20H.%20G.%20Rickover%20Part%20I%20(1110).pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108124603/https://www.jec.senate.gov/reports/97th%20Congress/Economics%20of%20Defense%20Policy%20-%20Adm.%20H.%20G.%20Rickover%20Part%20I%20(1110).pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2024-11-08|title=Hearing Before the Joint Economic Committee |work=Hearing Before the Joint Economic Committee|access-date=2025-05-01}}</ref> in 1982, near the end of his career, when he testified before the U.S. Congress that, were it up to him what to do with nuclear powered ships, he "would sink them all." At a congressional hearing Rickover testified that:

{{blockquote| Every time you produce radiation, you produce something that has a certain half-life, in some cases for billions of years. [...] I do not believe that nuclear power is worth the present benefits since it creates radiation. You might ask why do I design nuclear powered ships. That is because it is a necessary evil. I would sink them all. I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country. That's why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately, attempts to limit war have always failed. One lesson of history is when a war erupts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon is available. ... It is important that we control these forces and try to eliminate them. |[https://www.jec.senate.gov/reports/97th%20Congress/Economics%20of%20Defense%20Policy%20-%20Adm.%20H.%20G.%20Rickover%20Part%20I%20(1110).pdf Economics of Defense Policy: Hearing before the Joint Economic Committee], Congress of the United States, 97th Cong., 2nd sess., Pt. 1 (1982)}}

A few months later, following his retirement, Rickover spoke more specifically regarding the questions "Could you comment on your own responsibility in helping to create a nuclear navy? Do you have any regrets?":

<blockquote>I do not have regrets. I believe I helped preserve the peace for this country. Why should I regret that? What I accomplished was approved by Congress—which represents our people. All of you live in safety from domestic enemies because of security from the police. Likewise, you live in safety from foreign enemies because our military keeps them from attacking us. Nuclear technology was already under development in other countries. My assigned responsibility was to develop our nuclear navy. I managed to accomplish this.<ref>{{cite book |last= Rickover |first= Hyman George |title= Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life |url= https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/morgenthau/763/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/763_2ndMML-H.G.Rickover.pdf |access-date= 2009-03-17 |series= Second Annual Morgenthau Memorial Lecture |date= 1982-05-12 |publisher= Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs |archive-date= July 10, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180710040709/https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/morgenthau/763/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/763_2ndMML-H.G.Rickover.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref></blockquote>

==Focus on education==
[[File:JFK_and_Rickover.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and Rickover, White House, 11 February 1963<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHP/1963/Month+02/Day+11/JFKWHP-1963-02-11-B|title=Meeting with Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover|website=www.jfklibrary.org}}</ref> "...in addition to the multilateral POLARIS force, we discussed education and how he and I were brought up as boys"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/JFKOH/Rickover%2C%20Hyman%20G/JFKOH-HGR-01/JFKOH-HGR-01-TR.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/JFKOH/Rickover%2C%20Hyman%20G/JFKOH-HGR-01/JFKOH-HGR-01-TR.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Hyman G. Rickover Oral History Interview |website=John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program|date=1964-08-17 |first=Arthur |last=Schlesinger Jr.}}</ref>]]
When he was a child still living in Russian-occupied Poland, Rickover was not allowed to attend public schools because of his Jewish faith. Starting at the age of four, he attended a religious school where the teaching was solely from the ''[[Tanakh]]'', i.e., ''[[Old Testament]]'', in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-595-25270-2 | page = 20 | last = Rockwell | first = Theodore | title = The Rickover Effect | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U4kjnYL7-igC&q=Rickover,+Sabath&pg=PA21 | year = 2002 | publisher = IUniverse | location = Lincoln, NE }}</ref> Following his formal education in the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prairiefirenewspaper.com/2008/12/my-father-remembered|title=My father remembered|publisher=Prairiefirenewspaper.com|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218065332/http://prairiefirenewspaper.com/2008/12/my-father-remembered|archive-date=2015-02-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rickover developed a decades-long and outspoken interest in the educational standards of the US as being a national security issue, particularly as compared during the [[Cold War]] era to [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Russia]].<ref>{{cite speech |last=Rickover |first=Hyman George |title=Energy resources and our future |url=http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23151 |event=Annual Scientific Assembly of the Minnesota State Medical Association |location=St. Paul, MN |date=14 May 1957 |access-date=21 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503173011/http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23151 |archive-date=3 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

An example of his passion for education from his 1959 ''Report on Russia''<ref>H. G. Rickover, "Report on Russia", US GPO 1959 https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=uE0vAAAAMAAJ&rdid=book-uE0vAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1</ref> in the context of comparative educational systems:

<blockquote>There is no room here (in nuclear powerplant development) for lofty theories which do not work out in practice. We would not get anywhere if we had the loose, hazy thinking you encounter when you bring out the obvious failures of the American educational system. ... there are times when it is irresponsible to avoid criticizing something which one knows to be wrong and dangerous for the Nation as a whole. I feel that every one who has a position of responsibility in this country and who can see and understand what is happening not only has the right, he has the obligation and the duty to speak. ... This is why I feel so strongly about education—about our failure to give our children as good an education as they deserve and need. ... It is my considered opinion that there is no problem that faces the Congress or the country that is as important.</blockquote>

Rickover believed that US standards of education were unacceptably low. His first book centered on education was a collection of essays calling for improved standards of education, particularly in math and science, entitled ''Education and Freedom'' (1959). In it, he stated that "education is the most important problem facing the United States today" and "only the massive upgrading of the scholastic standards of our schools will guarantee the future prosperity and freedom of the Republic." A second book, ''Swiss Schools and Ours'' (1962) was a scathing comparison of the educational systems of Switzerland and America. He argued that the higher standards of Swiss schools, including a longer school day and year, combined with an approach stressing student choice and academic specialization produced superior results.<ref>{{cite thesis|url=http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3077&context=luc_diss |title=Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, USN: A Decade of Educational Criticism, 1955–64 |date=1982 |first=William J. |last=Haran |website=Loyola University Chicago}}</ref>

Recognizing that "nurturing careers of excellence and leadership in science and technology in young scholars is an essential investment in the United States national and global future," Rickover founded the [[Center for Excellence in Education]] following his retirement in 1983.<ref>{{cite web | title = The History of CEE: Center for Excellence in Education | access-date = 2009-03-21 | url = http://www.cee.org/about/history | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090318222622/http://www.cee.org/about/history | archive-date = 2009-03-18 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Additionally, Rickover founded the [[Research Science Institute]] (formerly the Rickover Science Institute) in 1984, a summer science program hosted by the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] for high school seniors from around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cee.org/events/rsi-2017-rickover-award|title=RSI 2017 Rickover Award &#124; Center for Excellence in Education|website=www.cee.org|access-date=2019-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207195729/https://www.cee.org/events/rsi-2017-rickover-award|archive-date=2019-12-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== General Dynamics scandal ==
In the early 1980s, structural welding flaws in submarines under construction were covered up by falsified inspection records, and the resulting scandal led to significant delays and expenses in the delivery of several submarines being built at the [[General Dynamics]] [[Electric Boat]] Division shipyard in [[Groton, Connecticut]]. The yard tried to pass on the vast cost overruns to the Navy, while Rickover demanded that the yard make good on its "shoddy" workmanship. The Navy settled with General Dynamics in 1981, paying out $634 million of $843 million in {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine|1}} cost overrun and reconstruction claims.<ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | last = Van Voorst | first = Bruce |author2=Thomas Evans | title = Overrun Silent, Overrun Deep | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-19 | date = 1984-12-24 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951382,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050113073258/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951382,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 13, 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | last = Alexander | first = Charles P. |author2=Christopher Redman |author3=John E. Yang | title = General Dynamics Under Fire | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-20 | date = 1985-04-08 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965505-4,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423234106/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965505-4,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 }}</ref> Secretary of the Navy [[John Lehman]] was partly motivated to seek the agreement in order to continue to focus on achieving [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s goal of a [[600-ship Navy]]. But Rickover was extremely bitter over the General Dynamics yard being paid hundreds of millions of dollars,<ref>Oliver, Dave. ''Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy''; Naval Institute Press; 2014; {{ISBN|978-1612517971}}; Chapter 15 notes; p. 156, note 2.</ref> and he lambasted both the settlement and Secretary Lehman. This was not Rickover's first clash with the defense industry; he was historically harsh in exacting high standards from defense contractors.<ref>{{cite magazine | title = Rickover's Attack on Defense Contractors  | access-date = 2009-03-20 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829357,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233553/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829357,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 | magazine=Time | date=1962-11-09}}</ref> It was later publicly announced by a former General Dynamics employee on ''[[60 Minutes]]'' with [[Mike Wallace]] that Rickover was right that General Dynamics was lying to the Navy, but by then Rickover's public image was already damaged.<ref>{{cite web |title=A chronology of events in the controversy over General Dynamic |url=https://apnews.com/article/a6282fa95dfd841b90f3c2b863253088 |website=apnews.com |publisher=The Associated Press |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref>

A Navy Ad Hoc Gratuities Board determined that Rickover had received gifts from General Dynamics over a 16-year period valued at $67,628, including jewelry, furniture, exotic knives, and gifts that Rickover had in turn presented to politicians.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaw |first1=Gaylord |title=Navy freezes Contracts at General Dynamics : Firm Fined, Accused of Ignoring Public Trust; Rickover Censured for Accepting $67,000 in Gifts |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-22-mn-16733-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=May 22, 1985 |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref> Charges were investigated that gifts were provided by [[General Electric]] and the [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock]], both major nuclear ship contractors for the Navy. Secretary Lehman admonished him in a non-punitive letter and stated that Rickover's "fall from grace with these little trinkets should be viewed in the context of his enormous contributions to the Navy." Rickover released a statement through his lawyer saying his "conscience is clear" with respect to the gifts. "No gratuity or favor ever affected any decision I made."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9051:1|title=Congressional research service|date=July 12, 1985}} {{small|(1.65 MB CRS-13)}} Alleged fraud, waste, and abuse, 07/12/85. O'rourke, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division.</ref> Senator [[William Proxmire]] of Wisconsin, a longtime supporter of Rickover, later publicly associated a debilitating stroke suffered by the admiral to his having been censured and "dragged through the mud by the very institution to which he rendered his invaluable service."<ref>{{Cite news | last = Keller | first = Bill | title = Rickover Stable in Naval Hospital | work = The New York Times | access-date = 2009-03-19 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D04E3D61738F930A25754C0A963948260 | date=1985-07-13}}</ref>

==Forced retirement==
By the late 1970s, Rickover's position seemed stronger than it had ever been. Over many years, powerful friends on both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees ensured that he remained on active duty long after most other admirals had retired from their second careers.<ref>{{cite news | title = Unsinkable Hyman Rickover |magazine=Time | access-date = 2009-03-20 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911955,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090208233746/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911955,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | url-status = dead | archive-date = February 8, 2009 | date=1977-05-23}}</ref> [[Jimmy Carter]]'s admiration for Rickover was shown by the fact that the title of Carter's autobiography was based on a question that Rickover had asked Carter when the latter was in the Navy ("Why Not The Best?").<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8QrkpOEJlQC|title = Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years|isbn = 978-1610754606|last1 = Carter|first1 = Jimmy|date = August 1996| publisher=University of Arkansas Press }}</ref><ref>Carter, Why Not The Best? (introductory material)</ref> However, Secretary of the Navy [[John Lehman]] felt that Rickover was hindering the well-being of the navy. As Lehman stated in his book, ''Command of the Seas'':

<blockquote>One of my first orders of business as Secretary of the Navy would be to solve ... the Rickover problem. Rickover's legendary achievements were in the past. His present viselike grip on much of the navy was doing it much harm. I had sought the job because I believed the navy had deteriorated to the point where its weakness seriously threatened our future security. The navy's grave afflictions included loss of a strategic vision; loss of self-confidence, and morale; a prolonged starvation of resources, leaving vast shortfalls in capability to do the job; and too few ships to cover a sea so great, all resulting in cynicism, exhaustion, and an undercurrent of defeatism. The cult created by Admiral Rickover was itself a major obstacle to recovery, entwining nearly all the issues of culture and policy within the navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnflehman.com/books/books_commandseas.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715043807/http://www.johnflehman.com/books/books_commandseas.html|url-status=dead|title=johnflehman.com|archive-date=July 15, 2012|website=www.johnflehman.com}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Secretary Lehman eventually attained enough political clout to enforce his decision to retire Rickover. This was in part assisted by the admiral's nearly insubordinate stance against paying the General Dynamics submarine construction claims, as well as his advanced age and waning political leverage. On 27 July 1981, Lehman was handed the final impetus for ending Rickover's career by way of an operational error on the admiral's part: a "moderate" loss of ship control and depth excursion while performing a submerged "crash back" maneuver during the sea trials of the newly constructed {{USS|La Jolla}}. Rickover was the actual man-in-charge during this specific performance test, and his actions and inactions were judged to have been the causal factor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19810822&id=pnIQAAAAIBAJ&pg=3287,1471323|title=The Free Lance-Star|via=Google News Archive Search|access-date=2014-12-12}}{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/09/23/running-critical/8d9de415-33c3-465b-8ba3-0ad4637c6bbb/|title=Running Critical |date=23 September 1986|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sdut-navy-submarine-lajollasandiego-2014oct21-story.html|title=San Diego says goodbye to La Jolla|first=Gary|last=Robbins|date=October 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky-3B5ARy2sC&q=%22la+jolla%22+rickover&pg=PA143|title=Fall From Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy|first=Gregory|last=Vistica|year=1997|publisher=Simon and Schuster|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0684832265}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6NnRc1lBdIC&q=%22la+jolla%22+rickover&pg=PA84|title=Rickover: Father of the Nuclear Navy|first1=Thomas B.|last1=Allen|first2=Norman|last2=Polmar|date=2017|publisher=Potomac Books, Inc.|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1574884456}}</ref> On 31 January 1982, five weeks after his 82nd birthday, Rickover was forced to retire from the Navy after 63 years of service under 13 [[presidents of the United States|presidents]] ([[Woodrow Wilson]] through [[Ronald Reagan]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pauslon |first1=John |title=Admiral Rickover Observations |url=https://ussrickover.org/rcl-john-paulson |website=USS Hyman G. Rickover Commissioning Committee |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> According to Rickover, he first learned of his firing when his wife told him what she heard on the radio.<ref name="people" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.acm.com/team/adams_story.html|title=Joel's Story: Near the Ocean Floor|website=www.acm.com}}</ref>

According to former President [[Jimmy Carter]], several weeks following his retirement, Rickover "was invited to the Oval Office and decided to don his full dress uniform. He told me that he refused to take a seat, listened to the president [Reagan] ask him to be his special nuclear advisor, replied 'Mr. President, that is bullshit,' and then walked out."<ref>{{Cite book | pages = 492, 493 | last = Carter | first = Jimmy | title = White House Diary | year = 2010 | publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux | location = New York }}</ref> The Navy's official investigation of General Dynamics' Electric Boat division was ended shortly afterward. According to Theodore Rockwell, Rickover's Technical Director for more than 15 years, more than one source at that time stated that General Dynamics officials were bragging around Washington that they had "gotten Rickover."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference|author=Rockwell, T.|date=2002|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0595252701|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U4kjnYL7-igC&pg=RA1-PA363|pages=1–363|access-date=2015-08-16}}</ref>

On 28 February 1983, a post-retirement party honoring Admiral Rickover was attended by all three living former U.S. Presidents at the time: [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], [[Gerald Ford|Ford]], and Carter, all formerly officers in the U.S. Navy. President Reagan was not in attendance.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Feinman | first = Elisabeth Bumiller and Barbara | title = Rickover at 83: Three-Gun Salute; Ex-Presidents Hail the Father of the Nuclear Navy | newspaper = The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 96B05426.lowres.jpeg | access-date = 2009-03-06 | url = http://imglib.lbl.gov/ImgLib/COLLECTIONS/BERKELEY-LAB/images/96B05426.lowres.jpeg | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090325162838/http://imglib.lbl.gov/ImgLib/COLLECTIONS/BERKELEY-LAB/images/96B05426.lowres.jpeg | archive-date = 2009-03-25 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

== Public image ==
Rickover has been called "the most famous and controversial admiral of his era."<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1612517971 | page = 1 | last = Oliver | first = Dave | title = Against the Tide | year = 2014 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location = Annapolis, MD }}</ref> He was hyperactive, blunt, confrontational, insulting, and a workaholic, always demanding of others without regard for rank or position.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Toti |first1=William |title=The Wrath of Rickover |url=https://ussrickover.org/rcl-william-toti |website=USS Hyman G. Rickover Commissioning Committee |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> Moreover, he had "little tolerance for mediocrity, none for stupidity."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9sLAQAAIAAJ&q=Rickover+%22he+ought+to+be+dead%22|title=Time|access-date=2014-12-12|last1=Hadden|first1=Briton|last2=Luce|first2=Henry Robinson|year=1954}}</ref> Even while a captain, Rickover did not conceal his opinions, and many of the officers whom he regarded as unintelligent eventually rose to be admirals and were assigned to the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819338-1,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233503/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819338-1,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 23, 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Science: The Man in Tempo 3 | date=1954-01-11}}</ref> Rickover frequently found himself in bureaucratic combat with these senior naval officers, to the point that he almost missed becoming an admiral; two selection boards passed him over for promotion, and it took the intervention of the White House, U.S. Congress, and the Secretary of the Navy before he was promoted.<ref name="time1954" /><ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-595-25270-2 | page = 155 | last = Rockwell | first = Theodore | title = The Rickover Effect | year = 2002 | publisher = IUniverse | location = Lincoln, NE }}</ref>

Rickover's military authority and congressional mandate were absolute with regard to the U.S. fleet's reactor operations, but his controlling personality was frequently a subject of internal Navy controversy. He was head of the Naval Reactors branch, and thus responsible for signing off on a crew's competence to operate the reactor safely, giving him the power to effectively remove a warship from active service, which he did on several occasions. The view became established that he sometimes exercised power to settle scores.<ref>''Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology'', p. 24.</ref> Author and former submariner [[Edward L. Beach Jr.]] referred to him as a "tyrant" with "no account of his gradually failing powers" in his later years.<ref>''United States Submarines'', 2002, p. 179.</ref>

== Later life and death ==
[[File:Headstone of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Day, 2017.jpg|thumb|Headstone of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, Arlington National Cemetery]]
On 4 July 1985, Admiral Rickover suffered what was described as a "serious" stroke, and was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital, thereafter dealing with partial paralysis in his right arm.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Keller |first1=Bill |title=RICKOVER STABLE IN NAVAL HOSPITAL |work=The New York Times |date=July 13, 1985 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/13/us/rickover-stable-in-naval-hospital.html |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref>

Rickover died at his home in Arlington, Virginia, on 8 July 1986, at age 86. He was buried on 11 July in a small, private ceremony at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVwJ9hOTGMMC&q=Rickover+stroke+pneumonia&pg=PA303|title=Rickover|access-date=2014-12-12|isbn=978-1557501776|last1=Duncan|first1=Francis|year=2001|publisher=Naval Institute Press }}</ref> On 14 July, memorial services were led by Admiral [[James D. Watkins]] at the [[Washington National Cathedral]], with President Carter, Secretary of State [[George Shultz]], Secretary Lehman, senior naval officers, and about 1,000 other people in attendance.<ref>{{cite news | last = Byrd | first = Lee | title = He Was Tough, Harsh ... But He Is Embedded In My Mind And My Heart | agency = Associated Press | date = 1986-07-14}}</ref>  At the request of the admiral's widow, President Carter read [[John Milton|Milton's]] sonnet ''[[When I Consider How My Light is Spent]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halloran |first1=Richard |title=A 'Teacher' Recalled at Rickover Rite |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/15/us/a-teacher-recalled-at-rickover-rite.html |access-date=3 March 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=15 July 1986}}</ref>

Secretary of the Navy Lehman said in a statement:

<blockquote>With the death of Adm. Rickover, the Navy and this nation have lost a dedicated officer of historic accomplishment. In his 63 years of service, Adm. Rickover took the concept of nuclear power from an idea to the present reality of more than 150 U.S. naval ships under nuclear power, with a record of 3,000 ship-years of accident-free operations.<ref name="auto3"/></blockquote>

And the then-Chief of Naval Operations:

<blockquote>"Most important," Admiral Watkins said, "he was a teacher. He set the standards. They were tough. That is the legacy and the challenge he left to all who study his contributions."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/15/us/a-teacher-recalled-at-rickover-rite.html "A 'Teacher' Recalled at Rickover Rite"] Richard Halloran, The New York Times.</ref></blockquote>

Rickover is buried in Section 5 at Arlington National Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web | title = Notable Graves – Prominent Military Figures – Section 5, Adm. Hyman G. Rickover| url =https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Prominent-Military-Figures| publisher=Arlington Military Cemetery }}</ref> His first wife Ruth is buried with him and the name of his second wife Eleonore is inscribed on his gravestone.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2015-10/admirals-letters-his-son|title=An Admiral's Letters to His Son – U.S. Naval Institute|website=www.usni.org|date=October 10, 2015}}</ref> Eleonore passed away on 5 July 2021, and was buried in Arlington Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obituary of Eleonore B. Rickover |url=https://adventfuneral.com/tribute/details/214282/Eleonore-Rickover/obituary.html |website=Advent Funeral & Cremation Services |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> Rickover is survived by Robert Rickover, his sole son by his first wife.<ref name="auto"/>

==Honors==

The ''Los Angeles''-class submarine {{USS|Hyman G. Rickover|SSN-709}} was named for him. She was commissioned two years before his death, and was, at that time, one of only two Navy ships to be [[List of U.S. military vessels named after living Americans|named after a living person]] since 1900 (there have been 16 more since). The submarine was launched on 27 August 1983, sponsored by his second wife Eleonore, commissioned on 21 July 1984, and deactivated on 14 December 2006. In 2015, the Navy announced a {{sclass|Virginia|submarine|1}} named {{USS|Hyman G. Rickover|SSN-795}} in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/605342/navy-names-new-virginia-class-attack-submarine/|title=Navy Names New Virginia-Class Attack Submarine |publisher=defense.gov|access-date=2015-08-16}}</ref>  The submarine's christening took place on 31 July 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iscbubbly.com/2021/07/isc-wine-to-christen-navy-submarine/#:~:text=The%20christening%20will%20take%20place%20on%20July%2031%2C,known%20as%20the%20%E2%80%9CFather%20of%20the%20Nuclear%20Navy.%E2%80%9D|title=ISC Wine to Christen Navy Submarine|date=July 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gdebchristenings.com/|title=General Dynamics Electric Boat|website=gdebchristenings.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eblanding.com/2021/07/06/july-6-2021-view-the-hyman-g-rickover-ssn-795-saturday-july-31/|title=July 6, 2021 - VIEW the Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) Saturday, July 31|date=July 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2021/08/01/navy-christens-2nd-submarine-in-honor-of-adm-rickover/|title=Navy christens 2nd submarine in honor of Adm. Rickover|agency=Associated Press|date=August 1, 2021|website=Navy Times}}</ref>

Rickover Hall at the [[United States Naval Academy]] houses the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Ocean Engineering, and Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering. Rickover Center at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command is located at Joint Base Charleston, where Navy personnel begin their engineering training. In 2011, the [[U.S. Navy Museum]] included Rickover as part of the ''Technology for the Nuclear Age: Nuclear Propulsion'' display for its Cold War exhibit, which featured the following quotation:

{{blockquote|Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous impatience.<ref>{{cite web | title= Technology for the Nuclear Age: Nuclear Propulsion | url= http://usnavymuseum.org/Ex1_NuclearPropulsion.asp | work= Cold War Gallery | publisher= [[U.S. Navy Museum]] | year= 2011 | access-date= 2011-10-12 | archive-date= November 16, 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121116021035/http://usnavymuseum.org/Ex1_NuclearPropulsion.asp | url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bebekim.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/doing-a-job-by-admiral-hyman-g-rickover-u-s-navy-retired/|title=Doing a Job|work=Simple ideas, taken seriously|date=August 27, 2010|publisher=Bebekim.wordpress|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref>}}

Other things named in his honor include the Admiral Hyman Rickover Fellowship at M.I.T.,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mit.edu/ans/www/resources.html|title=MIT ANS Resources|website=mit.edu|access-date=March 21, 2009|archive-date=February 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218203837/http://mit.edu/ans/www/resources.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Rickover Naval Academy|Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rickovernaval.org/|title=Admiral Hyman George Rickover Naval Academy|website=www.rickovernaval.org}}</ref> and Rickover Junior High School.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.d168.org/rickover/ |title=Home Page |access-date=2006-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205084528/http://d168.org/rickover/ |archive-date=2007-02-05 }}</ref>

== Awards ==
[[File:Rickover Congressional Gold Medal.jpg|right|frame|The second of two Congressional Gold Medals awarded to Rickover]]

===Warfare insignia===
{|
|-
|[[File:U.S. Navy - Submarine Warfare Insignia (Gold Dolphins).gif|160px]]
|[[Submarine Warfare Insignia]] (Dolphins)<ref name="auto1" />{{rp|9}}
|}

===Decorations and medals===
{|
|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy_Distinguished_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] with two [[5/16 inch star|{{frac|5|16}}" Gold Star]]s  (1961, 1964, 1982)
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Legion Of Merit]] with [[5/16 inch star|{{frac|5|16}}" Gold Star]]  (1945, 1952)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=Navy_and_Marine_Corps_Commendation_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Commendation Medal#Navy|Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal]]  (1945)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Army Commendation Medal]]  (1949) (Conversion award from Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Army in 1946.)
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg|width=80}}
|[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (1980)
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=China_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[China Service Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Navy Occupation Service Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] with one {{frac|3|16}}" [[Service star|Bronze Star]]
|}
* [[Congressional Gold Medal]]&nbsp;– 2 awards (1958, 1982)

===Foreign order===
{|
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.png|width=80}}
| Honorary [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (1946)
|}

In recognition of his wartime service, he was invested as an Honorary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent [[Order of the British Empire]] in 1946 by [[King George VI]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.military.com/history/admiral-hyman-g-rickover-taking-the-atom-undersea.html|title=Admiral Hyman G. Rickover: Taking the Atom Undersea|date=November 8, 2017}}</ref>

===Other awards===
Admiral Rickover was twice awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] for exceptional public service; the first in 1958, and the second 25 years later in 1983, becoming one of only three persons to be awarded more than one.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36758.html|title=Taylor receives third Congressional Gold Medal, May 5, 1848|author=Andrew Glass|date=May 5, 2010 |publisher=Politico|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref> In 1980, President Jimmy Carter presented Admiral Rickover with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the United States' highest non-military honor, for his contributions to world peace.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/10/archives/carter-gives-medal-of-freedom-to-his-mentor-rickover-and-13.html|title=Carter Gives Medal of Freedom to His Mentor, Rickover, and 13|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 10, 1980}}</ref>

He also received 61 civilian awards and 15 honorary degrees, including the [[Enrico Fermi Award]] ''"For engineering and demonstrative leadership in the development of safe and reliable nuclear power and its successful application to our national security and economic needs."''<ref>{{cite web | title = The Enrico Fermi Award&nbsp;– H.G. Rickover, 1964 | access-date = 2009-03-06 | url = http://www.er.doe.gov/fermi/html/Laureates/1960s/hgrickover.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090212160830/http://www.er.doe.gov/fermi/html/Laureates/1960s/hgrickover.htm | archive-date = 2009-02-12 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Some of the most notable other awards include:<ref>{{cite book | title = Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 3 | year = 1989 | access-date = 2009-03-06 | url = http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1384&page=297|publisher=Nap.edu| doi = 10.17226/1384 | isbn = 978-0-309-03939-0 }}</ref>
* the Egleston Medal Award of [[Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science|Columbia University Engineering School]] Alumni Association (1955)
* the [[George Westinghouse Medal|George Westinghouse Gold Medal]] from the [[American Society of Mechanical Engineers]] (ASME) (1955)
* the [[Michael I. Pupin]] 100th Anniversary Medal (1958)
* the Golden Omega Award from the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE) (1959)
* the Prometheus Award from the [[National Electrical Manufacturers Association]] (NEMA) (1965)
* the [[The Franklin Institute Awards|Newcomen Medal]] (1968)
* the [[Washington Award]] from the Western Society of Engineers<ref>{{cite web | title = Western Society of Engineers | access-date = 2009-03-20 | url = http://www.wsechicago.org/washington_award.asp | publisher = Wsechicago.org | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090212155513/http://www.wsechicago.org/washington_award.asp | archive-date = 2009-02-12 }}</ref> (1970)

Some of his honorary degrees included:
* [[Doctor of Science|Sc.D.]]: [[Colby College]] (1954);<ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | title = Kudos | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-21 | date = 1954-06-21 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860818-1,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233648/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860818-1,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 }}</ref> [[Stevens Institute of Technology]] (1958);<ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | title = The $1,000 Word | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-21 | date = 1958-06-23 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810381-2,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233452/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810381-2,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 }}</ref> Columbia University (1960)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.columbia.edu/cu/secretary/pdf_and_word/honorary_degree_recipients.pdf | title = Honorary Degree Recipients: 1945–2007| access-date = 2009-03-21 | last = Haswell | first = Hollee |date=April 2008 | publisher = Columbia University }}</ref>

==Publications==
Hyman was a writer who penned several books about education and naval history. His major works are as follows:
* ''Education and Freedom''. (1959). [[New York City, NY]]: [[E. P. Dutton|Dutton]]
* ''Swiss Schools and Ours: Why Theirs Are Better''. (1962). [[Boston]]: [[Little, Brown and Company]]
* ''American Education''. (1963). [[New York City, NY]]: [[E. P. Dutton|Dutton]]
* ''Liberty, Science, and Law''. (1969). [[New York City, NY]]: [[Newcomen Society]]
* ''Eminent Americans: Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet''. (1972). [[Washington, D.C.]]: [[United States Government Publishing Office|United States Government Printing Office]]
* ''[[How the Battleship Maine Was Destroyed]]''. (1976). [[Washington, DC]]: [[Naval History and Heritage Command|Naval History Division]]
* ''No Holds Barred: The Final Congressional Testimony of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover''. (1982). [[Washington, DC]]: [[Ralph Nader|Center for Study of Responsive Law]]

==Documentaries==
* ''Admiral Rickover'' – [[60 Minutes]] interview by [[Diane Sawyer]] (1984)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nuclearstreet.com/pro_nuclear_power_blogs/b/science-history-nuclear/archive/2014/03/09/admiral-hyman-rickover-a-vintage-television-interview-and-some-thoughts#.XJq6rtFOmu4|title=Admiral Hyman Rickover: a vintage television interview and some thoughts |website=nuclearstreet.com}}</ref> with an excerpt from a 1957 interview with [[Edward R. Murrow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.people.vcu.edu/~rsleeth/Rickover.html|title=Rickover Interview|website=www.people.vcu.edu}}</ref>
* ''Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power'' by [[Michael Pack]] – documentary screened at the GI Film Festival in the District of Columbia on 24 May 2014,<ref>''[http://gifilmfestival.com/portfolios/admiral-rickover-the-father-of-nuclear-power/#sg1 Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529150521/http://gifilmfestival.com/portfolios/admiral-rickover-the-father-of-nuclear-power/#sg1 |date=2014-05-29 }}'' at GI Film Festival.</ref> and broadcast on 9 December 2014, on [[PBS]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://local.ans.org/wilmington/sites/default/files/flyers/20130221%20Rockwell-Rickover-Announcement.pdf|title='Dinner & A Rickover Movie' with Ted Rockwell : Author of 'The Rickover Effect'|publisher=Local.ans.org|access-date=2014-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714185559/http://local.ans.org/wilmington/sites/default/files/flyers/20130221%20Rockwell-Rickover-Announcement.pdf|archive-date=2014-07-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
* Hewlett, Richard G., and Francis Duncan. ''[https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/08/f2/HewlettandDuncanNuclearNavyComplete.pdf Nuclear Navy: 1946-1962]''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974. {{ISBN|0-226-33219-5}}.
* Wortman, Marc. ''Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022. {{ISBN|9-780300-24310-9}}.

== See also ==
* [[Operation Sandblast]]
* [[Jimmy Carter#Naval career|President Jimmy Carter's naval career]]
* [[Naval Nuclear Power School]]
* [[Y-12 National Security Complex]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Hyman Rickover}}
{{wikiquote}}
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* [http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0002rzmv Image of Thurgood Marshall, Hyman Rickover and Newton Minow at convocation "Prospects for Democracy" at Beverly Hilton, California, 1963.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224040945/http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198%2Fzz0002rzmv |date=February 24, 2021 }} [[Los Angeles Times]] Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, [[Charles E. Young Research Library]], [[University of California, Los Angeles]].
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