Don Walsh
Don Walsh (born Nov. 2, 1931) is an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. Walsh, as the Navy’s first deep submersible pilot, was part of the team of the U.S. Navy’s “Project Nekton”, during which he and Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard made a record maximum descent aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste into the Mariana Trench on January 23, 1960, the deepest point of the world's oceans. They descended to a depth of 35,798 feet (10,911 m). During the dive, the Trieste was subjected to a pressure of 16,883 pounds per square inch.
He received a B.S. in Engineering from the US Naval Academy; M.S. and Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from Texas A&M University; and an M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University. After graduation from Annapolis he served in submarines, including command of USS Bashaw in the late 1960s. Naval service included both Korean and Vietnam wars.
In the MIR submersible, Walsh dived on the RMS Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He spent more than five decades traveling the world conducting research in, on, and around the oceans. Additionally, Walsh has also worked at the North and South Poles and has made 30 expeditions to the Arctic and 20 to the Antarctic.
Walsh was named one of the world’s great explorers by Life magazine. After the Trieste descent, President Eisenhower awarded him the Legion of Merit in a White House ceremony. He is a recipient of the The Explorer Club’s Lowell Thomas Medal and its highest award, The Explorers Medal. In 2010, the National Geographic Society bestowed its greatest honor, the Hubbard Medal, on Walsh. The U.S. Navy awarded Walsh its Distinguished Public Service Award.
He received a B.S. in Engineering from the US Naval Academy; M.S. and Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from Texas A&M University; and an M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University. After graduation from Annapolis he served in submarines, including command of USS Bashaw in the late 1960s. Naval service included both Korean and Vietnam wars.
In the MIR submersible, Walsh dived on the RMS Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He spent more than five decades traveling the world conducting research in, on, and around the oceans. Additionally, Walsh has also worked at the North and South Poles and has made 30 expeditions to the Arctic and 20 to the Antarctic.
Walsh was named one of the world’s great explorers by Life magazine. After the Trieste descent, President Eisenhower awarded him the Legion of Merit in a White House ceremony. He is a recipient of the The Explorer Club’s Lowell Thomas Medal and its highest award, The Explorers Medal. In 2010, the National Geographic Society bestowed its greatest honor, the Hubbard Medal, on Walsh. The U.S. Navy awarded Walsh its Distinguished Public Service Award.
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Photograph in collection is a photo of the bathyscaphe Trieste that was autographed by Don Walsh.
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