Rickover is known as the " Father of the Nuclear Navy ", which as of July 2007 had produced 200 nuclear-powered submarines, and 23 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and cruisers, though many of these U. S. vessels are now decommissioned and others under construction.

Fleeing anti-Semitic Russian pogroms, Rickover, his mother and sister ( Americanized: " Fannie ") made passage to New York City in the United States in March 1906, joining Abraham who had made earlier, initial trips there beginning in 1897 to become established.

Since December 1945 Rickover had been Inspector General of the 19th Fleet on the US West Coast.

He had been assigned to work with General Electric at Schenectady, New York State, to develop a nuclear propulsion plant for destroyers, but in May 1946, 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, Rickover was finally sent to Oak Ridge as the deputy manager of the entire project, granting him access to all facilities, projects and reports.

" Subsequently, 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 defined by the uncontrolled release of fission products to the environment resulting from damage to a reactor core ) as opposed to the dramatic one that had just taken place at Three Mile Island.

Even the most senior, renowned and professionally-accomplished nuclear-trained officers that Rickover had personally selected, such as Edward L. Beach, Jr., had mixed feelings about " the kindly old gentleman ," or simply " KOG ", as Rickover became euphemistically known in inner circles.

When all seemed lost Scott stood to leave but Rickover told him to wait, saying that he had only been testing his confidence, and whether he would be true to what he believed, since this would be a difficult project.

On his second return from Argentina, Scott joined other former Rickover staffers who had a consulting firm in nuclear engineering, working out of Washington, D. C ..

Later, Monk and Natalie watch the videotape, which reveals that Trudy had a child with her professor, Ethan Rickover, who is now a judge.

Then, Monk learns that, in fact, Rickover had saved the baby girl who is now a 26-year-old movie critic named Molly who he re-connects with and grows to love.

From Rickover's first replacement, Kinnaird R. McKee, to today's head of Naval Reactors, Kirkland H. Donald, all have held command of nuclear submarines, their squadrons and ocean fleets ; not one has been a long-term Engineering Duty Officer such as Rickover.

Only four people have ever been awarded two or more gold medals: Winfield Scott ( 1814 for War of 1812 and 1848 for Mexican – American War ), Zachary Taylor ( 1846, 1847, and 1848 for Mexican-American War ), Lincoln Ellsworth ( 1928 and 1936 for polar exploration ), and Hyman G. Rickover ( 1958 for the " Nuclear Navy " and 1982 for his entire career ).

On 16 November 1973 Rickover was promoted to four-star admiral after 51 years of commissioned service.

Promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in 1958, the same year he was awarded the first of two Congressional Gold Medals, for nearly the next three decades Rickover exercised tight control over the ships, technology, and personnel of the nuclear Navy, interviewing and approving or denying every prospective officer being considered for a nuclear ship.

Hyperactive, political, blunt, confrontational, insulting, flamboyant, and an unexcelled workaholic who was always demanding of others — without regard for rank or position — as well as himself, Admiral Rickover was a thundering force of nature and lightning rod for controversy.

" Even while a Captain, Rickover did not conceal his opinions, and many of the officers he regarded as dumb eventually rose in rank to be admirals and were assigned to the Pentagon.

* Hyman G. Rickover, 4-star Admiral, former Corps Area Commander

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.

More fond of life on a small ship, and knowing that young officers in the submarine service were advancing quickly, Rickover went to Washington and volunteered for submarine duty.

Fortunately for Rickover, he ran into his former commanding officer from Nevada while leaving the building, who interceded successfully on Rickover's behalf.

He was assigned to the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, expecting to be transferred shortly to the Bureau of Engineering in Washington D. C. After a trip overland across China, Burma, and India, by air across the Mideast to Athens and then London, and by ship to the U. S., Rickover arrived in Washington and took up his duties as assistant chief of the Electrical section of the Bureau of Engineering on 15 August 1939.

According to Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, the primary military leader in charge of the Manhattan Project, Mills was anxious to have a very determined man involved, and – though he knew that Rickover was " not too easy to get along with " and " not too popular " – in his judgment Rickover was the man who the Navy could depend on " no matter what opposition he might encounter, once he was convinced of the potentialities of the atomic submarine.

However, after his retirement — and only a few months later, in May 1982 — Admiral Rickover spoke more specifically regarding the questions " Could you comment on your own responsibility in helping to create a nuclear navy?

But on January 31, 1982, in his 80's, and after 63 years of service to his country under 13 presidents ( Woodrow Wilson through Ronald Reagan ), Rickover was forced to retire from the Navy as a full admiral by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, with the knowledge and consent of President Reagan.

While the yard tried to pass the vast cost overruns directly onto the Navy, Rickover fought Electric Boat's general manager, P. Takis Veliotis, tooth and nail at every possible turn, demanding that the yard make good on its shoddy workmanship.

Outraged, Rickover furiously lambasted both the settlement and Secretary Lehman, who was partly motivated to seek an agreement in order to continue to focus on achieving President Reagan's goal of a 600-ship Navy.

This was hardly Rickover's first clash with the defense industry ; he was historically hard, even harsh, in exacting high standards from these contractors – but now his relationship with Electric Boat took on the characteristics of an all-out, no-holds-barred war ( Running Critical: The Silent War, Rickover & General Dynamics, 1986 ).

Another son, Richard Correll also became an actor, best remembered as Richard Rickover on Leave It To Beaver and also produced and directed the TV sitcom Family Matters.

Hyman Rickover on Nautilus official photo source ( archived source )

A few weeks after returning from Uruguay, Scott was interviewed by the then-Captain ( later Admiral ) Hyman G. Rickover for a job on a top-secret project involving nuclear energy.

He was then offered the job in the immediate staff of Captain Rickover working on the design of the nuclear reactor for the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine of the U. S. Navy.

Said Admiral Rickover, “ The nation that first develops nuclear engines will rule the oceans of the world ; our enemies are working on such engines ; we must be first .”

" It introduced a number of topics and works by authors including, " The Gaia hypothesis, watershed consciousness, voluntary simplicity, personal computers, the flat tax, the effects of chemicals on the human gene pool ; the ideas and stories of Amory Lovins, John Todd, Christopher Alexander, Donella Meadows, beat poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Michael McClure ( who edited an issue ), Paul Ehrlich, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, R. Crumb, Mary Catherine Bateson, Gregory Bateson, Admiral Hyman Rickover, James Baldwin, Sallie Tisdale, Ivan Illich, Paul Hawken, Kevin Kelly, Howard Rheingold, Anne Herbert.

In addition to his World War I career, Bauer is well known as the author of the book Das Unterseeboot, a treatise on the design and operation of U-boats, which was later translated into English by Hyman G. Rickover.

* January 27 – Hyman Rickover, American admiral ( d. 1986 )

Hyman George Rickover ( January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986 ) was a four-star admiral of the United States Navy who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors.

On 10 April 1942, after America's entry into World War II, Rickover flew to Pearl Harbor to organize repairs to the electrical power plant of the USS California.

It was co-founded in 1983 by the late Admiral Hyman G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education.

On 2 June 1922, Rickover graduated 107th out of 540 Midshipmen and was commissioned as an Ensign.

Rickover found himself frequently and loudly in bureaucratic combat with these senior naval officers, to the point that he almost missed becoming " Admiral " Rickover: Two admiral-selection boards — exclusively made up of admirals — passed over Captain Rickover for promotion, even while he was in the process of becoming famous.

In 1970, Rickover Junior High School opened its doors, and additions were made to the existing schools.