Accession No.: 93-22
PROCESSING RECORD
SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY ARCHIVES
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Wisner, Robert Lester, 1912-2005
Robert Lester Wisner Papers, 1948-1994
Physical Description: 10 mss, 1 Lmss
Description: The collection consists of the papers of Robert Wisner and includes
photographs, notes, correspondence, fish studies and negatives.
Biography: Robert Lester Wisner was born December 24, 1912 in Indiana. After
military service in World War II, Wisner received a BA from San Diego State
University in 1947 before entering Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1951 as
a graduate student of Carl L. Hubbs. There he remained to become Hubbs'
assistant. During the early 1950s Wisner conducted studies on marlin, later he
worked on lampreys and hagfish. Wisner continued to work in Scripps’ Marine
Vertebrate Division / Marine Biological Research Division until his retirement
after Carl Hubbs passed away. Robert Wisner participated in many major Scripps
expeditions, and on cruises of the Marine Vertebrate Division and CalCOFI
(California Cooperative Oceanic Fishery Investigation): 1952 Shellback
Expedition; 1953 TransPac Expedition to Japan; 1956 Eniwetok, studying fishes
and marine life for environmental studies connected with Operation Redwing, one
of the Pacific atomic tests. He further participated in Vermilion Sea Expedition
(1959), Monsoon Expedition in 1960, Piquero Expedition (1968) and SouthTow
(1972). Wisner often served as expedition leader or co-leader, and collected fish
and other marine specimens on many of these cruises. From these expeditions,
Wisner went on to contribute by collecting many specimens for the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography Fish Collection and wrote up procedures for these
specimens, data capture and curatorial policies for the collection in the early 1950s.
He developed expertise in the use of the Isaacs Kidd Midwater Trawl and nets and
collection instruments, and was often consulted by other scientists and institution
in their use. He was an avid sports fisherman and served as coach of the UCSD
Intercollegiate Pacific Coast Fishing Tournament. Wisner passed away on July 30,
2005