Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography (ICHO-III) records
Scope and Content Note
The ICHO-III materials, which span the years 1968-1980, arrived at the WHOI Archives at an unknown date from Daniel Merriman, chairman of the Organizing Committee and co-editor of the Congress’s proceedings, Oceanography: The Past. The material dates from 1968-1980, is in its original order, and comprises mostly correspondence and accepted papers. There are also meeting minutes, conference and related publications, announcements and brochures, mailing lists, audiocassettes, and photographic contact sheets.
Merriman’s general correspondence files also contain several folders relating to specific people and events, including the 1972 Congress in Edinburgh (folders 17 and 21); Charles Innis’ files on conference planning and grant information; and Mary Sears’, co-editor of the published proceedings. The minutes contain notes and reports from the Organizing Committee that Merriman chaired. Accepted papers comprise almost 2 boxes of drafts and correspondence.
Dates
- 1968-1980
Language of Materials
The records are in
English.
Access
Open: materials are available for research.
Use
Copyright: Permission to publish material from the collection must be authorized by the Institution Archivist.
Historical Information
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution hosted the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography [ICHO-III] on September 22-26, 1980, under the auspices of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, and the Centre International d’Histoire de l’Oceanographie. The First International Congress was held in Monaco in 1966, and the Second Congress was held in Edinburgh in 1972. In 1980 ICHO-III was part of a year-long celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of WHOI, and was followed by an Assembly, September 29-October 2, in which invited speakers addressed the question, “Will we use the oceans wisely - the next 50 years in oceanography?”
Daniel Merriman, a senior WHOI Trustee and Member of the Corporation, and Professor Emeritus of Biology at Yale University, chaired the Organizing Committee that took form in 1977. The preliminary work took place almost entirely at Merriman’s home in Connecticut. Mr. Charles S. Innis acted as Logistics Coordinator for the Congress. The proceedings of ICHO-III were published in a volume, Oceanography: The Past, and co-edited by Mary Sears and Daniel Merriman. The companion volume from the papers of the Assembly was published as Oceanography: The Present and Future.
Like its predecessors, ICHO-III recorded the history of the development of marine sciences. Three major addresses were given on the local, national and international perspectives. Four morning’s symposia focused on the histories of American oceanography, instrumentation, pollution and plate tectonics. Afternoon sessions provided participants an opportunity to hear and discuss some 70 papers presented by prominent individuals from 21 countries on historical perspectives in biological, chemical, geological and physical oceanography, fisheries research, technology and archeology, as well as histories of oceanography by geographical region and of individuals and institutions. Special lectures and other events were held for the evenings, and a variety of exhibits were held.
[History was taken from both the preface to the volume Oceanography: The Past, and from ICHO-III brochure].
Extent
9 box(es) (4.5 linear feet)
Overview
The Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography records are comprised of mostly correspondence and accepted papers. There are also meeting minutes, conference and related publications, announcements and brochures, mailing lists, recordings, and photographic contact sheets.
Arrangement
The records were maintained in their original order.
List of Series:
Custodial History
The records had been kept by Daniel Merriman prior to their acquisition by the W.H.O.I. Archives.
Acquisitions Information
The records of the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography were given to the W.H.O.I. Archives by Daniel Merriman at an unspecified date between 1980-1994.
Separated Material
Reprints and invoices were removed from the collection during processing.
Processing Information
File folders were removed from numerous plastic cartons and put into acid free boxes; metal paper clips were removed, and the General Correspondence files were condensed and put into acid-free folders and labeled.
- Title
- A Guide to the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography (ICHO-III) records, 1968-1980
- Author
- Margot Brown
- Date
- August 1996
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written inEnglish
Repository Details
Part of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Data Library and Archives Repository