Papers of Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine geologist Francis P. Shepard.
Francis P. Shepard Papers, 1920-1983 (SMC 7)
OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Restrictions: Original media formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies may be available for
researchers.
Extent: 39 Linear feet (39 record cartons, 2 oversize folders, and 14 map case folders)
Digital Content
Selected materials from the collection have been digitized.
Francis Parker Shepard was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 10, 1897. Shepard discovered his interest in geology and the ocean at a young age, hiking in the mountains and sailing in his family's yacht around the east coast. Shepard attended Harvard University and received a B. A. in Geology in 1920. Shepard's studies at Harvard were interrupted by his service in the U.S. Navy between 1918 and 1919. After graduating, Shepard married Elizabeth Buchner (1895-1984) and moved to Chicago, where he received a PhD. in Geology in 1922 from the University of Chicago. Shepard taught geology at the University of Illinois between 1922 and 1945. During World War II, between 1942 and 1945, Shepard worked for the Navy, applying his knowledge of marine geology to assist with submarine operations with the University of California Division of War Research. In 1945 Shepard became a Professor of Submarine Geology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a position he held until his retirement in 1966. Following his retirement, Shepard served as a Professor Emeritus at SIO, continuing his research. Francis Parker Shepard passed away on April 25, 1985.
In 1980, Shepard drafted the text of his personal autobiography, the manuscript of which is contained in Box 11 in this collection and is also available online through a link in the finding aid. Two additional short biographies are available online:
Francis P. Shepard Biography. Deborah Day (Scripps Institution of Oceanography archivist, retired), 1997.
Francis Parker Shepard, 1897-1985. Joseph R. Curray, in Coming of Age: Scripps Institution of Oceanography: A Centennial Volume, 1903-2003. Ed. Robert L. Fisher, Edward D. Goldberg, and Charles S. Cox. San Diego: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, 2003. pp. 157-167.
The Francis P. Shepard Papers provide substantial documentation of marine geologist Shepard's career and professional life. Biographical material includes an autobiography that Shepard and his wife Elizabeth wrote together in 1980 documenting Shepard's family, education and career, and scrapbook clippings. The voluminous correspondence series consists of ten cartons of incoming and outgoing correspondence, mostly exchanged with colleagues in his scientific circles, and project associates. The subject and research files documents Shepard's field trips and expeditions with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, data, notebooks, topics of inquiry, committees, professional associations and organizations, and also his work on American Petroleum Institute Project 51 (API 51) during the period 1951-1958. The collection includes material on Jacques Cousteau's diving saucer Soucoupe and other deep diving vehicles Shepard used to study marine canyons; material on tsunamis (especially the April 1946 tsunami he witnessed on the island of Hawaii); and files on ocean currents, the sea floor, beach erosion, sand analysis, cores, and more. Shepard's data includes daily observation notes from the SIO Pier and detailed observations from early Scripps expeditions in the 1940s.
Arranged in nine series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE PROJECT (API PROJECT 51), 3) BIOGRAPHICAL AND TEACHING MATERIALS, 4) WRITINGS, 5) SUBJECT FILES, 6) RESEARCH AND DATA, 7) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES, 8) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS, and 9) OVERSIZE.