It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Mme. Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre this past week. Many of us will fondly remember Mme. Carpine-Lancre for her great kindness and generosity. She remained an active and prolific scholar throughout her life, did everything she could to aid colleagues in their research, and was eager… Read More Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre (1933 – 2022)
By John R. Dolan Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7093 Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer, 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France During the 1860s and 1870s the Darwinian Revolution was in full swing. Darwin’s critics pointed out that the origin of life was not addressed and that there appeared to be many missing links among taxa both existing and fossil.… Read More The famous and lesser-known illustrations of Thomas Huxley’s Bathybius
Posted by Vera Schwach: “Marine Lexicon is a cooperative project between Portugal and Norway, funding by EEA Grants, aiming at the construction of a thesaurus of European common names of marine mammals (cetacean, seals, sea lions, and sirenian) and symbolic elements (sea monsters, hybrid beings, folklore creatures) represented in the early modern age (15th –… Read More Marine Lexicon
By Penelope K. Hardy and Helen M. Rozwadowski Among the numerous Confederate statues targeted by protesters around the country, the one of Matthew Fontaine Maury in Richmond, Virginia, inspired only the vague graffiti condemnation, “Fuck this guy too.” Maury, who is familiar to oceanographers, historians of the ocean sciences, generations of naval officers, and… Read More Reckoning with a Racist Legacy in Ocean Science
The International Commission for the History of Oceanography is seeking abstract submissions for two proposed sessions at the 2021 Prague International Congress of History of Science and Technology (for details, see: https://www.ichst2021.org/). Please send proposed abstracts or questions by Friday, May 22nd to Penelope Hardy at phardy [AT] uwlax.edu or Helen Rozwadowski at helen.rozwadowski [AT]… Read More CFP: 2021 Prague International Congress of History of Science and Technology
A note from ICHO member Dr. Katharine Anderson: “Lyell’s great theoretical contributions to geology centered on a concept of the relationship of land and seas over time, and he memorably urged a sea-centered viewpoint in the first volume of his Principles of Geology (1830). There he wrote of the “habitual unconsciousness” of our terrestrial species:… Read More Save Charles Lyell’s Notebooks
[Submitted by Helen Rozwadowski] A meeting of the Commission on the History of Oceanography (ICHO) was held at the IUHPST Congress in Rio de Janeiro on July 24, 2017. In attendance were: Helen Rozwadowski (President) and Cornielia Lüdecke (Vice-President) as well as the following members: Alexandru Bologa (Romania; Bruno Costelini (Brazil); Pen Hardy (USA); Maria… Read More ICHO Meeting, Rio IUHPST Congress July 24, 2017
16 – 18 May 2017, Sesimbra, Portugal The sixth conference in the Oceans Past series will be held by CHAM-FCSH, NOVA/UAc with the support of Sesimbra Municipality (Portugal) under the main theme: “Historical Perspectives on the Elements and Dynamics of the Marine Socio-Ecological System.” The conference is open to all students and researchers interested in… Read More Call For Papers: Oceans Past VI
By Vera Schwach ICHO and the Hjort Centre for Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Bergen, Norway, is organizing a combined marine science and history of marine science symposium: In 2019 we will celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the birth of Johan Hjort (1869-1948). His research was foundational to the development of modern fisheries science. In particular, Hjort’s… Read More Challenging the scientific legacy of Johan Hjort: Is it time for a new paradigm shift in marine research?
A few weeks ago I visited some friends who live on Long Island. We had planned to go to Sagamore Hill, the country estate of Theodore Roosevelt. However, upon learning that we needed advance reservations, we decided instead to visit the ‘Eagle’s Nest,’ the less well-known estate of William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of the American… Read More When Billionaires Trusted in Science
History of Oceanography 