Hyman George Rickover: 1900-1986: They Broke the Mold

Flouting the rules is no way to get ahead in an institution steeped in tradition. But Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who died last week at his home near Washington at the age of 86, often treated the U.S. Navy -- and its rules -- with contempt. He ignored orders he did not like, wore his uniform sparingly and preferred bluntness to civility. Still, he survived in the service for more than 63 years, longer than any other officer in U.S. naval history. Adjectives -- brilliant, egotistic, rude, unorthodox -- clung to Rickover like barnacles to boats. Yet it was the diminutive...