born Jan. 27, 1900, Makov, Russia
died July 8, 1986, Arlington, Va., U.S.
U.S. naval nuclear engineer.
His family immigrated to the U.S. in 1906, and he grew up in Chicago. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, he served on submarines and other ships, then headed the electrical section of the Navy's Bureau of Ships in World War II. From 1947 he led the Navy's nuclear-propulsion program; his team developed the first atomic-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus , launched in 1954. He headed research on reactor development for the Atomic Energy Commission and helped develop the country's first full-scale, civilian-use nuclear power plant, at Shippingport, Pa. (1956–57). Promoted to admiral in 1973, he was noted for his outspoken views and his singleminded advocacy of nuclear power.