- Hyman Rickover was born on January 27, 1900 in Rawa Mazowiecka, Poland, Russian Empire. He was married to Eleonore A. Bednowicz and Ruth D. Masters. He died on July 8, 1986 in Arlington, Virginia, USA.
- SpousesEleonore A. Bednowicz(1974 - July 8, 1986) (his death)Ruth D. Masters(1931 - 1972) (her death, 1 child)
- Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, June 1922, 107th out of 540 Midshipmen; commissioned an Ensign.
- Earned Master of Science (M.Sc.) in electrical engineering at Naval Postgraduate School, U.S. Naval Academy and at Columbia University School of Engineering, 1928.
- Captain, Minesweeper Finch at Tsingtao, China and Commander, Mine Division Three, Asiatic Fleet, 1937.
- Division of Reactor Development, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and Director, Naval Reactors Branch, U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, 1949.
- Buried in Section 5, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
- The lesson of history is: When a war starts, every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon has been available. That is the lesson learned time and again. Therefore, we must expect, if another war - a serious war - breaks out, we will use nuclear energy in some form. That's due to the imperfection of human beings.
- 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.
- Take the number of nuclear submarines. I'll hit right close to home. I see no reason why we have to have just as many as the Russians do. At a certain point you get where it's sufficient. What's the difference whether we have 100 nuclear submarines or 200? I don't see what difference it makes. You can sink everything on the oceans several times over with the number we have and so can they. That's the point I'm making. There's got to be some judgment used and these are very expensive things. They take up a lot of time and money and taxpayers' money too.
- More than ambition, more than ability, it is rules that limit contribution; rules are the lowest common denominator of human behavior. They are a substitute for rational thought.
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