Sea Research Society
Encyclopedia
The Sea Research Society (SRS) is a non-profit educational research organization founded in 1972. Its general purpose is to promote scientific and educational endeavors in any of the marine sciences or marine histories with the goal of obtaining knowledge for the ultimate benefit to mankind. It does both archival research and underwater expeditions in search of historic shipwrecks.
of National Geographic magazine; Mendle L. Peterson, Chief of Underwater Exploration, Smithsonian Institution
; Frederic Dumas
, French underwater archaeologist of Jacques-Yves Cousteau
fame; Anders Franzen
, Swedish underwater archaeologist and discoverer of the Swedish warship Vasa; Ron A. Gibbs, Curator Armed Forces History, National Park Service
; Paul Tzimoulis, Publisher, Skin Diver magazine; Ed Bearss
, Senior Historian, National Park Service; Robert F. Marx
, undersea explorer; E. Lee Spence
, Underwater Archaeology Editor, NAUI’s Diving World magazine; Peter Throckmorton
, "discoverer of the oldest known shipwreck;" Pablo Bush Romero, President, CEDAM; and others of similar note. Virtually all were published authors and internationally known for their works with shipwrecks. Several have been described as the "father of underwater archaeology." Unfortunately, a number of the founding members are now deceased.
Principal officers are Dr. E. Lee Spence, President; Jim McNeill
, VP-Arctic Expeditions; Veli Albert Kallio
, VP-Environmental Affairs; and Rusty Whiting, International Training Director.
, SS Georgiana
, SW Mary Bowers
, SW Constance, USS Housatonic
, the Confederate submarine Hunley, SS Norseman, CSS Sumter
and others.
(IRS) made a determination in May 1976 that Sea Research Society is a tax-exempt organization under regulation 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and donations are tax deductible for income reporting purposes under section 170 of the Code.
(first in Columbia,SC, then in Mount Pleasant, SC) from 1972 until 1978. It awarded five doctorate
s jure dignitatis in Marine Histories (DMH or MHD). The Society (in conjunction with the International Diving Institute
) is now offering a series of research, field and classroom courses leading to various levels of certification in underwater archaeology. The field programs offer students the opportunity to actually work on historic shipwrecks and other archaeological sites.
Some degrees are awarded jure dignitatis. That is, a person who has demonstrated the appropriate qualities to be given a particular office may be awarded the degree by virtue of the office held. It is another kind of earned—but not strictly academic—degree.
Board Members
The Society's founding board members included Luis MardenLuis Marden
Luis Marden was an American photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist who worked for National Geographic Magazine. He worked as a photographer and reporter before serving as chief of the National Geographic foreign editorial staff...
of National Geographic magazine; Mendle L. Peterson, Chief of Underwater Exploration, Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
; Frederic Dumas
Frédéric Dumas
Frédéric Dumas was part of a team of three, with Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Philippe Tailliez, in which he was nicknamed Didi. They had a passion for diving, and developed the diving regulator with the aid of the engineer Émile Gagnan...
, French underwater archaeologist of Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
fame; Anders Franzen
Anders Franzén
Anders Franzén was a Swedish marine technician and an amateur naval archaeologist. He is most famous for having located the 1628 wreck of the Swedish galleon Vasa in 1956 and participated in her salvage 1959-1961...
, Swedish underwater archaeologist and discoverer of the Swedish warship Vasa; Ron A. Gibbs, Curator Armed Forces History, National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
; Paul Tzimoulis, Publisher, Skin Diver magazine; Ed Bearss
Ed Bearss
Edwin Cole Bearss , a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II, is a military historian and author known for his work on the American Civil War and World War II eras and is a popular tour guide of historic battlefields...
, Senior Historian, National Park Service; Robert F. Marx
Robert F. Marx
Robert F. Marx is one of the pioneer American scuba divers and is best known for his work with shipwrecks and sunken treasure. Although he is considered controversial for his frequent and successful forays into treasure hunting, fellow treasure hunter E...
, undersea explorer; E. Lee Spence
E. Lee Spence
Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure. He is also a published editor and author of non-fiction reference books; a magazine editor , and magazine publisher ; and a...
, Underwater Archaeology Editor, NAUI’s Diving World magazine; Peter Throckmorton
Peter Throckmorton
Peter Throckmorton , DMH, American journalist and underwater archaeologist is one of several pioneer underwater archaeologists frequently described as the Father of Underwater Archaeology. Throckmorton was a founding member of the Sea Research Society and served on its Board of Advisors until his...
, "discoverer of the oldest known shipwreck;" Pablo Bush Romero, President, CEDAM; and others of similar note. Virtually all were published authors and internationally known for their works with shipwrecks. Several have been described as the "father of underwater archaeology." Unfortunately, a number of the founding members are now deceased.
Principal officers are Dr. E. Lee Spence, President; Jim McNeill
Jim McNeill, Polar Explorer
Jim McNeill McNeill is a polar explorer, presenter and keynote speaker, with over 25 years of experience travelling in the Arctic. He founded the Ice Warrior project in 2001. He has guided many groups to the Arctic, including BBC film crews...
, VP-Arctic Expeditions; Veli Albert Kallio
Veli Albert Kallio
Veli Albert Kallio, a Finnish scientist and Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society who lives in Great Britain, is "one of the region's leading ice experts" and has been tracking earthquakes and glacial ice quakes in the northwest of Greenland that he attributes to the isostatic rebound caused by...
, VP-Environmental Affairs; and Rusty Whiting, International Training Director.
General Membership
SRS Membership is open to the general public.Expeditions
The Society has conducted numerous expeditions over the years including expeditions relating to the wrecks of the CSS DavidCSS David
CSS David was a Civil War-era torpedo boat built as a private venture by T. Stoney at Charleston, South Carolina in 1863, and put under the control of the Confederate States Navy. The cigar-shaped boat carried a 60- or 70-pound explosive charge on the end of a spar projecting forward from her bow...
, SS Georgiana
SS Georgia
SS Georgia was an oil tanker lost at Haisborough Sands off the coast of Norfolk, England in November 1927.-History:The ship began as hull No. 82 in the shipyard of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia in the United States of America. She was ordered in 1907 by...
, SW Mary Bowers
Mary Bowers
The blockade runner Mary Bowers, Captain Jesse DeHorsey , bound from Bermuda to Charleston, South Carolina with an assorted cargo, struck the submerged wreck of the in fourteen feet of water a mile off of Long Island on August 31, 1864...
, SW Constance, USS Housatonic
USS Housatonic
Three ships of the United States Navy have been named Housatonic after the Housatonic River., was launched 20 November 1861 and sunk by the Confederate submarine H. L...
, the Confederate submarine Hunley, SS Norseman, CSS Sumter
CSS Sumter
CSS Sumter, a 473-ton bark-rigged screw steam cruiser, was built as the merchant steamship Habana at Philadelphia in 1859 for McConnell's New Orleans & Havana Line. Purchased by the Confederate Government at New Orleans in April 1861, she was converted to a cruiser and placed under the command of...
and others.
Tax Status
The United States Internal Revenue ServiceInternal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
(IRS) made a determination in May 1976 that Sea Research Society is a tax-exempt organization under regulation 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and donations are tax deductible for income reporting purposes under section 170 of the Code.
College of Marine Arts
The Society operated its educational program under its College of Marine ArtsCollege of Marine Arts
The College of Marine Arts was operated as the Sea Research Society's formal higher education wing from 1972 until 1978. It was initially located in Columbia, South Carolina and later moved to Mount Pleasant, outside of Charleston where it was housed in the former Berkeley County courthouse...
(first in Columbia,SC, then in Mount Pleasant, SC) from 1972 until 1978. It awarded five doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
s jure dignitatis in Marine Histories (DMH or MHD). The Society (in conjunction with the International Diving Institute
International Diving Institute
The International Diving Institute was founded in 1996 and offers advanced dive training, especially in the use of surface supplied air, underwater welding, rigging and hyperbaric chamber operation, leading to a certification required for commercial divers working on oil platforms in the offshore...
) is now offering a series of research, field and classroom courses leading to various levels of certification in underwater archaeology. The field programs offer students the opportunity to actually work on historic shipwrecks and other archaeological sites.
Some degrees are awarded jure dignitatis. That is, a person who has demonstrated the appropriate qualities to be given a particular office may be awarded the degree by virtue of the office held. It is another kind of earned—but not strictly academic—degree.