~2025-31672-56: /* Personal life */

2025-11-07T10:59:12Z

Personal life

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{{Short description|American oceanographer (1931–2023)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Don Walsh
| image = 428-GX-USN 1160555 Don Walsh.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Walsh in 1974
| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|11|2}}
| birth_place = [[Berkeley, California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|12|1931|11|2}}
| death_place = [[Myrtle Point, Oregon]], U.S.
| work_institutions = [[United States Navy]]
| alma_mater = [[United States Naval Academy]]<br />[[San Diego State University]]<br />[[Texas A&M University]]
| known_for = [[Bathyscaphe Trieste|Trieste]]
| prizes = [[Hubbard Medal]] (2010)
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
|allegiance= {{flag|United States}}
|branch= {{flag|United States Navy}}
|serviceyears= 1954–1978
|battles = [[Korean War]]<br>[[Vietnam War]]
|rank= [[File:US Navy O6 infobox.svg|x15px]] [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]]
|awards= [[File:US Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal.jpg|left|15px]] [[Navy Distinguished Public Service Award|Distinguished Public Service Award]]<br />[[File:Hubbard Gold Medal, Anne Morrow Lindbergh.JPG|15px]] [[Hubbard Medal]]
|spouse={{marriage|Joan Walsh|1962}}<ref name="nyt" />
| children = 2
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
}}

'''Don Walsh''' (November 2, 1931 – November 12, 2023) was an American [[oceanographer]], [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] officer and marine policy specialist. While aboard the [[Bathyscaphe Trieste|bathyscaphe ''Trieste'']], he and [[Jacques Piccard]] made a record maximum descent in the [[Challenger Deep]] on January 23, 1960, to {{convert|35813|ft|m}}. Later and more accurate measurements have measured it at {{convert|35798|ft|m}}.
[[File:Bathyscaphe Trieste Piccard-Walsh.jpg|thumb|260px|Lt. Don Walsh, USN (bottom) and Jacques Piccard (center) in the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'']]

== Early life and education ==
Walsh was born in [[Berkeley, California]] on November 2, 1931.<ref name="nyt" /> He graduated with a [[bachelor's degree]] in engineering from the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] in 1954, and later, a [[Master's degree]] in political science from [[San Diego State University]], and a [[PhD]] in physical oceanography from [[Texas A&M University]].<ref name="NMHS_award">{{cite web |author= |date=2020-09-21 |language=en|publisher=[[National Maritime Historical Society]]|title=Award Recipients |url=https://seahistory.org/award/capt-don-walsh-usn-ret/|access-date=November 16, 2023}}</ref>

== Career ==
Walsh served 24 years in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] upon graduation from the Academy, spanning the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War]]s.<ref name="society">[https://seahistory.org/award/capt-don-walsh-usn-ret/ CAPT Don Walsh, USN (Ret.)] [[National Maritime Historical Society]]. Retrieved August 4, 2024.</ref> He served as a [[Submarine Warfare insignia|submarine officer]] and was a qualified [[Navy diver (United States Navy)|Navy Diver]].<ref name="society"/>

He attained the rank of [[Captain (naval)|captain]] by the time he retired. He spent fifteen years at sea, mostly in [[submarine]]s, and was a submarine commander. He also worked with ocean-related research and development for the Navy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-59040-ocprint--.html |title=Seven miles under the sea |date=January 23, 2010 |last=Hall |first=Landon |work=[[The Orange County Register]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/vessels/submersibles11.htm |title=Research Vessels: Submersibles – Trieste |author=United States Department of the Navy |date=February 1, 1960 |publisher=[[Office of Naval Research]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020418105908/http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/vessels/submersibles11.htm |archive-date=2002-04-18}}</ref>

Walsh was [[Mount_Freeman#Walsh_Spur|appointed]] as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development from 1971 to 1972.

Serving as Dean of Marine Programs and Professor of [[Ocean Engineering]] at the [[University of Southern California]], Walsh initiated and directed the university's Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies. In 1989, his company, International Maritime Incorporated, contracted a joint venture with the [[Shirshov Institute of Oceanology|P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology]] to establish an underwater maintenance company, Soyuz Marine Service, which continues to operate in the [[Russian Federation]]. Walsh continued to support ocean sciences in his work on the Ocean Sciences Board at the [[National Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Board Members of the Ocean Sciences Board|url=http://dels.nas.edu/global/osb/Board-Members|accessdate=May 7, 2016}}</ref>

He managed a marine consulting business beginning in 1976, and {{as of|2010|lc=on}} conducted about five deep-sea expeditions per year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Deepest Dive Ever: 'Another day at the office'|url=http://www.kval.com/news/local/83381257.html |publisher= [[KVAL-TV]]/[[Associated Press]]|work=[[The World (Coos Bay)|The World]] |date= February 3, 2010|last=Walsh|first=Meghan|accessdate=March 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421070859/https://kval.com/news/local/83381257.html |archive-date=2010-04-21}}</ref>

Walsh held a faculty appointment at [[Oregon State University]] in the [[College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ceoas.oregonstate.edu/don-walsh|website=www.ceoas.oregonstate.edu |title= Academic Bio – OSU|date=11 May 2020 |accessdate=November 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences|title=OSU website|url=http://ceoas.oregonstate.edu/profile/walshd/|website=CEOAS faculty website|date=11 May 2020 |publisher=CEOAS|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref>

It was reported in 2010 that Walsh visited the deep-sea submersible [[Jiaolong (submersible)|''Jiaolong'']] and its makers at the China Ship Scientific Research Center. The craft had "planted a Chinese flag on the bottom of the South China Sea during a two-mile-deep dive in June" as the Chinese program—which Walsh characterized as "very deliberate"—proceeded toward its ambitious goal of diving to 7,000 meters, or 4.35 miles, in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|first=William J.|last=Broad|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/science/12deepsea.html |title=China Explores a Frontier 2 Miles Deep |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 11, 2010 |accessdate= March 29, 2012}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Walsh lived with his wife, Joan, in [[Sitkum, Oregon]], on a ranch which they bought 1992. They had two children together. Walsh remained active with the [[National Academy of Sciences]] and the Ocean Elders organization.<ref>{{cite book |date=2015 |title=Sea Change: 2015–2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences |publisher=National Academies Press |doi=10.17226/21655 |isbn=978-0-309-36688-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ocean Elders|title=Capt. Don Walsh|url=http://www.oceanelders.org/elder/captain-don-walsh/|website=Ocean Elders|date=13 April 2017 |accessdate=March 25, 2018}}</ref>

Walsh was on-site to congratulate [[Victor Vescovo]] when he completed his own record-breaking series of dives in the [[Challenger Deep]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|last=Strege|first=Davis|url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/explorer-reaches-deepest-spot-on-earth-in-historic-dive |title=Explorer reaches deepest spot on Earth in historic dive|publisher=usatosay.com|date=13 May 2019|accessdate=9 June 2020}}</ref> In June 2020, Walsh's son Kelly dived to the bottom of Challenger Deep with Vescovo, becoming the eleventh person to reach the deepest point in the ocean.<ref name="BBC_Kelly">{{cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Amos|date=20 June 2020|language=en|publisher=BBC News |title=Mariana Trench: Don Walsh's son repeats historic ocean dive|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53112621|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref>

Walsh died at his home in [[Myrtle Point, Oregon]] on November 12, 2023, at the age of 92.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|title=Don Walsh, Record-Breaking Deep Sea Explorer, Dies at 92|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/us/don-walsh-dead.html|last=Broad|first=William J. |work=The New York Times|date=November 18, 2023|access-date=November 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129184018/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/us/don-walsh-dead.html |archive-date=2023-11-29 }}</ref><ref name="USNI">{{cite web|first=Gidget|last=Fuentes|date=2023-11-13|language=en|publisher=|title=Retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, Deep Sea Submariner and Ocean Explorer, Dies at 92|url=https://news.usni.org/2023/11/13/retired-navy-capt-don-walsh-deep-sea-submariner-and-ocean-explorer-dies-at-92|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref>

== Media ==
Walsh visited the wreck of the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']] on board the submersible [[MIR (submersible)|MIR 2]] on 20 July 2001.<ref name="Walsh_at_Titanic">{{cite web|language=en|publisher=|title=People of the US Naval Institute |url=https://www.usni.org/people/don-walsh?page=2|access-date=November 15, 2023}}</ref>

Walsh joined the team that oversaw the dive of the ''[[Deepsea Challenger]]'' mission, during which [[James Cameron]] dived solo to the bottom of the [[Challenger Deep]], on March 26, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Morelle|first=Rebecca|author-link=Rebecca Morelle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17399978 |title=James Cameron gets ready to dive to the Mariana Trench |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=March 20, 2012 |accessdate=March 29, 2012}}</ref>

Walsh was the inspiration for Chris Wright's 2015 book ''No More Worlds to Conquer'', and his interview constitutes the opening chapter. The book, about moving on from the defining moment in one's life, was inspired by Walsh's answer to Wright's question, "What came next after the ''Trieste'' dive?" Walsh responded, "Well, a lot of people think I died."<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Chris |date=2015|title=No More Worlds to Conquer: Sixteen People Who Defined Their Time – And What They Did Next |publisher=The Friday Project |isbn=978-0007575428 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCNOBQAAQBAJ }}</ref>

== Honors ==
[[File:Don Walsh (2010).jpg|thumb|right|Walsh in 2010]]

Walsh was appointed by Presidents [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] and [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] to the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, was a member of the Law of the Sea Advisory Committee for the [[U.S. Department of State]], and served as a member of the Marine Board of the [[U.S. National Research Council]] from 1990 to 1993.

In 2001, Walsh was elected to the [[National Academy of Engineering]].<ref name="NAE">{{cite web|language=en|publisher=[[National Academy of Engineering]]|title=NAE Website – Dr. Don Walsh|url=https://www.nae.edu/27804/Dr-Don-Walsh|access-date=November 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114153721/https://www.nae.edu/27804/Dr-Don-Walsh |archive-date=2023-11-14 }}</ref>

Walsh was named one of the world's great explorers by [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]].<ref name="NMHS_award" />

On April 14, 2010, The [[National Geographic Society]] awarded its highest honor, the [[Hubbard Medal]], to Walsh. The U.S. Navy awarded Walsh its [[Navy Distinguished Public Service Award|Distinguished Public Service Award]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/04/don-walsh-and-the-deepest-dive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418172649/http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/04/don-walsh-and-the-deepest-dive.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2010 |title=Deepest Dive: Geographic Honors Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea |date= April 15, 2010 |last=Braun |first=David |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |accessdate= March 29, 2012}}</ref>

On September 22, 2020, The [[Marine Technology Society]] and The [[Society for Underwater Technology]] announced that the inaugural recipient of their new MTS/SUT Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration was [[Edith Widder]].<ref name="MTS_SUT_award">{{cite web|author=|date=2020-09-21|language=en|publisher=[[Marine Technology Society]]|title=Dr. Edie Widder To Receive Inaugural Captain Don Walsh Award For Ocean Exploration|url=https://www.mtsociety.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2020&month=09&day=20&id=8:dr-edie-widder-to-receive-inaugural-captain-don-walsh-award-for-ocean-exploration|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref>

On January 10, 2025, [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] [[Carlos Del Toro]] announced the [[lead ship]] of the {{sclass2|Explorer|ocean surveillance ship|4}} of [[ocean surveillance ship]]s will be named the USNS ''Don Walsh'' (T-AGOS 25) after Walsh. Walsh's spouse and daughter, Joan Walsh and Liz Walsh, were named [[ship sponsor]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=SECNAV Del Toro Names T-AGOS Explorer-Class and First Two Ships |url=https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/4025333/secnav-del-toro-names-t-agos-explorer-class-and-first-two-ships/ |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=United States Navy |date=10 January 2025}}</ref>

== Awards and decorations ==
Recognitions include the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oregonstate.box.com/s/v1k780rm60pol1c72yz27ko5xnog9f9h |title=Captain Don Walsh USN (Ret), PhD Biographical information |publisher=[[Oregon State University]] |access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref>

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="2"|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=US Navy Distinguished Public Service Award Ribbon-vector.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|colspan="2"|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Antarctica_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="2"|[[Navy Distinguished Public Service Award]]
|-
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|-
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]
|-
|colspan="2"|[[Antarctica Service Medal]]
|}

===Legion of Merit citation===
[[File:Legion of Merit drawing.svg|50px]]
:Citation:

<blockquote>The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Don Walsh, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services from January 1959 to January 1960 as Officer-in-Charge of the Bathyscaph Trieste. Throughout this period, Lieutenant Walsh exercised marked professional skill and resourcefulness in carrying out an important assignment. During deep-diving operations in the Marianas Trench, he successfully completed a series of record-breaking dives, culminated by a dive to the unprecedented depth of 37,800 feet on 23 January 1960.<ref name="valor.militarytimes.com">{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/305027 |title=Valor awards for Don Walsh |website=Valor.militarytimes.com |access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="All Hands">{{cite magazine |author= |title=Decorations & Citations |url=https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/27/2002122221/-1/-1/1/ah196005.pdf |magazine=[[All Hands]] |location= |publisher=U.S. Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel |date=May 1960 |access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[List of people who descended to Challenger Deep]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |date= June 2001 |title= Over the Top: Sailing the Northeast Passage |first= Don |last= Walsh |journal= [[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]] |publisher= [[United States Naval Institute]] |url= https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2001-06}}{{subscription required}}
*{{cite journal |date= January 2005 |title= The Plastic Ocean |first= Don |last= Walsh |journal= [[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]] |publisher= [[United States Naval Institute]] |url= https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2005-01}}{{subscription required}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Don Walsh}}
* {{IMDb name|1005382|Don Walsh}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.oceancareers.com/2.0/display_profile.php?profile_id=72&action=display|title=Captain Don Walsh, USN (ret) PhD |work=Oceancareers.com|publisher=Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE)}}
*{{cite journal|url= http://www.diggles.com/ec/2008/EC08-06.pdf|journal= The Explorers Club Northern California Chapter|title= A Tea for Marta|date= June 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110710124137/http://www.diggles.com/ec/2008/EC08-06.pdf|archive-date= 2011-07-10}}

{{Portal bar|Biography}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Don}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:American oceanographers]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:People from Coos County, Oregon]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award]]
[[Category:San Diego State University alumni]]
[[Category:Texas A&M University alumni]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War]]

Don Walsh - Revision history

~2025-31672-56: /* Personal life */