A Guide to the Athelstan Spilhaus Papers, 1912-2003

Biographical Note

Scientist, administrator and educator Athelstan Spilhaus (1911-1998), made recognized contributions to oceanography, meteorology and cartography, served as a dean at the University of Minnesota, and worked to promote science education and science-based management of the earth’s resources. Born in Rondebosch, South Africa, he held degrees in mechanical engineering (University of Cape Town, 1931) and in aeronautical engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1933). In 1936 Spilhaus joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, where he developed the bathythermograph, a device that made possible the measurement of ocean depths and temperatures from a moving vessel. This invention established his international reputation. From 1941 through 1945 he served in the United States Army, teaching meteorology and traveling in Europe and China, where he supervised a network of weather stations and met Mao Zedong. In 1949 Spilhaus became dean of science and technology at the University of Minnesota, a position he held until 1967. While at Minnesota he promoted the establishment of a Sea Grant Universities program for oceanographic education and research. This program was formally established by the United States Congress in 1966. In 1955 Spilhaus began writing scripts for “Our New Age,” a science-based newspaper comic strip which ran until the early 1970s. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed him United States Commissioner to the Seattle World’s Fair (also known as the Century 21 Exposition). In 1967 he became president of the Franklin Institute museum in Philadelphia, but left in 1969 after difficulties with the museum directors. During the 1970s he served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, as consultant to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and in other scientific and cultural roles. He championed improvements in environmental science and urban development, and promoted the Minnesota Experimental City, a project envisioned as a venue to test new urban designs in real-world conditions. From 1977 to 1978 he was a distinguished visiting professor of marine sciences at the University of Texas. During the 1980s and 1990s Spilhaus designed new map projections highlighting the earth’s oceans, as well as map-themed puzzles. During his last years Spilhaus and his third wife Kathleen became known as authorities on antique mechanical toys.

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Scope and Contents

Books, scientific and popular articles, research and activity reports, autobiographies, diaries, professional and personal correspondence, photographs, lecture tapes and transcripts, testimonials, news clippings and production drawings, 1912-2003 (bulk 1930-1990) document the scientific, educational and cultural activities of Athelstan Spilhaus, and illuminate the evolution of American meteorology, oceanography, cartography and environmental science during the 20th century. Reports and scientific journal articles from the 1930s concern topics in mechanical engineering, notably the evolution of air-powered instruments in aircraft. Travel journals, a memoir and photographs from 1936 record Spilhaus’s road journeys through Africa. Correspondence, publications and research reports (1937-1955) document the development of the bathythermograph and other advances in oceanography. Military orders, journals, reports, annotated maps, news clippings and photographs (1941-1946) record Spilhaus’s activities in northern Europe and in China, and document conditions in those regions. News clippings, magazine articles, correspondence, research reports and transcripts cover Spilhaus’s time at the University of Minnesota and his support of the Sea Grant Universities program, the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, the Experimental Cities project, public health, urban renewal, environmentalism and other topics of public concern during the 1960s and 1970s. Drafts and annotated drafts of Spilhaus’s unpublished autobiography and other writings, oral history interviews, and materials assembled for a biography during the 1990s, recount Spilhaus’s story in his own words. The collection also includes books and articles by Spilhaus with correspondence related to their publication, maps and cartographic projections devised by Spilhaus, prototypes of games and toys, and production drawings for the newspaper comic “Our New Age.”

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access

Use Restrictions

Unrestricted use

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Athelstan Spilhaus Papers, 1912-2003, the Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

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Detailed Description of the Papers

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