Don Walsh
Walsh in 2010
Born(1931-11-02)November 2, 1931
Berkeley, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 12, 2023(2023-11-12) (aged 92)
Myrtle Point, Oregon, U.S.
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
Known forTrieste
AwardsHubbard Medal (2010)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUnited States Navy
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Rank Captain
Awards
Distinguished Public Service Award
Hubbard Medal
Spouse(s)
Joan Walsh
​
(m. 1962)​
[1]
Children2

Don Walsh (November 2, 1931 – November 12, 2023) was an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste when it made a record maximum descent into the Challenger Deep on January 23, 1960, the deepest point of the world's oceans. The depth was measured at 35,813 feet (10,916 m), but later and more accurate measurements have measured it at 35,798 feet (10,911 m).

Lt. Don Walsh, USN (bottom) and Jacques Piccard (center) in the bathyscaphe Trieste

Biography

Walsh born in Berkeley, California on November 2, 1931.[1][2] He was associated with ocean science, engineering, and marine policy for more than fifty years. He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1954. He attained the rank of captain by the time he retired. He spent fifteen years at sea, mostly in submarines, and was a submarine commander. He also worked with ocean-related research and development for the U.S. Navy.

Serving as Dean of Marine Programs and Professor of Ocean Engineering at the University of Southern California, Walsh initiated and directed the university's Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies, and was a member of the board of directors for Omnithruster Inc., a manufacturer of marine maneuvering and auxiliary propulsion systems in nearby Santa Fe Springs. In 1989, his company, International Maritime Incorporated, contracted a joint venture with the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology to establish an underwater maintenance company, Soyuz Marine Service, which continues to operate in the Russian Federation. Walsh continued to support ocean sciences in his work on the Ocean Sciences Board at the National Academy of Sciences.[3]

Later life

Walsh lived with his wife, Joan, in Sitkum, Oregon, on a ranch which he had bought 1992. He managed a marine consulting business beginning in 1976, and as of 2010 conducted about five deep-sea expeditions per year.[4] He remained active with the National Academy of Sciences[5] and the Ocean Elders,[6] and served on the faculty of Oregon State University.[7]

Walsh visited the wreck of the RMS Titanic on board the submersible MIR 2 on 20 July 2001.[8]

It was reported in 2010 that Walsh visited the deep-sea submersible Jiaolong and its makers at the China Ship Scientific Research Center. The craft had "planted a Chinese flag on the bottom of the South China Sea during a two-mile-deep dive in June" as the Chinese program—which Walsh characterized as "very deliberate"—proceeded toward its ambitious goal of diving to 7,000 meters, or 4.35 miles, in 2012.[9]

Walsh joined the team that oversaw the dive of the Deepsea Challenger mission, during which James Cameron dived solo to the bottom of the Challenger Deep, on March 26, 2012.[10]

Walsh was the inspiration for Chris Wright's 2015 book No More Worlds to Conquer, and his interview constitutes the opening chapter. The book, about moving on from the defining moment in one's life, was inspired by Walsh's answer to Wright's question: what came next after the Trieste dive? Walsh responded: "Well, a lot of people think I died."[11]

Walsh was on board to congratulate Victor Vescovo when he completed his own record-breaking series of dives in the Challenger Deep in 2019.[12]

In June 2020, Walsh's son Kelly dived to the bottom of the Challenger Deep with Vescovo, becoming the twelfth person to reach the deepest point in the ocean. [13]

Walsh died at his home in Myrtle Point, Oregon on November 12, 2023, at the age of 92.[1][14]

Honors

Walsh received a bachelor's degree in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master's degree in Political Science from San Diego State University, and a master's degree and a PhD in physical oceanography from Texas A&M University. He was appointed by Presidents Carter and Reagan to the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, was a member of the Law of the Sea Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of State, and served as a member of the Marine Board of the U.S. National Research Council from 1990 to 1993. In 2001, Walsh was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.[15] Walsh held a faculty appointment at Oregon State University in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.[16]

Walsh was named one of the world's great explorers by Life magazine.[2] He has spent more than five decades traveling the world conducting research in, on, and around the oceans.

In 1961, Walsh was chosen as one of 50 outstanding Americans of meritorious performance in the fields of endeavor, to be honored as a guest of honor to the first annual Banquet of the Golden Plate in Monterey, California. Honor was awarded by vote of the National Panel of Distinguished Americans of the Academy of Achievement.[17]

On April 14, 2010, The National Geographic Society bestowed its greatest honor, the Hubbard Medal, on Walsh in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. at the National Geographic headquarters. The U.S. Navy awarded Walsh its Distinguished Public Service Award.[18]

On September 22, 2020, The Marine Technology Society and The Society for Underwater Technology announced that Edith Widder was the inaugural recipient of their new joint MTS/SUT Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration.[19]

Awards and decorations

Navy Distinguished Public Service Award
Legion of Merit Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal
Antarctica Service Medal

[20]

Legion of Merit citation

Walsh, Don
Lieutenant, United States Navy
Date of Action: January 23, 1960
Citation:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Don Walsh, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services from January 1959 to January 1960 as Officer-in-Charge of the Bathyscaph Trieste. Throughout this period, Lieutenant Walsh exercised marked professional skill and resourcefulness in carrying out an important assignment. During deep-diving operations in the Marianas Trench, he successfully completed a series of record-breaking dives, culminated by a dive to the unprecedented depth of 37, 800 feet on 23 January 1960.[21][22]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Broad, William J. (November 18, 2023). "Don Walsh, Record-Breaking Deep Sea Explorer, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Award Recipients". National Maritime Historical Society. 2020-09-21. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Board Members of the Ocean Sciences Board". Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Walsh, Meghan (February 3, 2010). "Deepest Dive Ever: 'Another day at the office'". The World. KVAL-TV/Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2010-04-21. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Sea Change: 2015–2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences. National Academies Press. 2015. doi:10.17226/21655. ISBN 978-0-309-36688-5.
  6. ↑ Ocean Elders (13 April 2017). "Capt. Don Walsh". Ocean Elders. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (11 May 2020). "OSU website". CEOAS faculty website. CEOAS. Retrieved November 14, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "People of the US Naval Institute". Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Broad, William J. (September 11, 2010). "China Explores a Frontier 2 Miles Deep". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  10. ↑ Morelle, Rebecca (March 20, 2012). "James Cameron gets ready to dive to the Mariana Trench". BBC News. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ Wright, Chris (2015). No More Worlds to Conquer: Sixteen People Who Defined Their Time – And What They Did Next. The Friday Project. ISBN 978-0007575428.
  12. ↑ Strege, Davis (13 May 2019). "Explorer reaches deepest spot on Earth in historic dive". usatosay.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (20 June 2020). "Mariana Trench: Don Walsh's son repeats historic ocean dive". BBC News. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ Fuentes, Gidget (2023-11-13). "Retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, Deep Sea Submariner and Ocean Explorer, Dies at 92". Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ "NAE Website – Dr. Don Walsh". National Academy of Engineering. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Academic Bio – OSU". www.ceoas.oregonstate.edu. 11 May 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  18. ↑ Braun, David (April 15, 2010). "Deepest Dive: Geographic Honors Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Dr. Edie Widder To Receive Inaugural Captain Don Walsh Award For Ocean Exploration". Marine Technology Society. 2020-09-21. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Captain Don Walsh USN (Ret), PhD Biographical information". Oregon State University. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Valor awards for Don Walsh". Valor.militarytimes.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Decorations & Citations" (PDF). All Hands. U.S. Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel. May 1960. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

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