OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1959 



House of Representatives, 

 Special Subcommittee on Oceanography 



OF THE CoMIHITTEE ON MERCHANT MaRINE AND FISHERIES, 



Washington^ D.C. 



The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 219, Old 

 House Office Building, Hon. George P. Miller (chairman of the sub- 

 committee) presiding. 



Present: Representatives Bomier (chairman). Miller, Dingell, and 

 Curtin. 



Staff members present : John M. Drewry, chief counsel ; Bernard J. 

 Zincke, counsel ; and William B. Winfield, clerk. 



Mr. Miller. The committee will be in order. This morning we 

 have the privilege of hearing from Capt. Henry G. Munson, U.S. 

 Navy, Hydrographer of the Navy and Hydrographer in Command 

 of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office in Oceanography. 



Captain, we are very glad to welcome you back here and we would 

 be very glad to hear from you. 



STATEMENT OF CAPT. HENRY G. MUNSON, U.S. NAVY, HYBEOGEA- 

 PHEE OF THE NAVY AND HYDEOGEAPHEE IN COMMAND OF 

 THE U.S. NAVY HYDEOGEAPHIC OFFICE IN OCEANOGEAPEY 



Captain Munson. Good morning, gentlemen. Mr. Chairman, I 

 deeply appreciate the opportunity to appear before you and stand 

 ready to assist you in every way possible. 



The Hydrographic Office, which I am representing here this morn- 

 ing, has behind it a long record of achievement in the field of ocean- 

 ography, particularly with respect to problems concerning the mer- 

 chant marine and fisheries. 



Matthew Fontaine Maury, who, as Admiral Hayward told you last 

 month, was appointed Superintendent of the Depot of Charts and 

 Instruments in 1842, was the world's first professional oceanographer. 

 That is, he was the first man in the world to make his living working 

 full time on scientific problems comiected with the ocean. Ocean- 

 ography is still a very small profession, and there are certainly fewer 

 than 1,000 oceanographers in the country today. Probably there are 

 not more than 500. 



Maury's analysis of log-book data resulted in two sets of findings 

 of great value to shipping and fisheries. One was incorporated in his 

 Pilot Charts, which set forth the optimum routes for sailing vessels 

 to follow in ocean voyages. Very valuable savings in time resulted 

 from the use of his routes. Before all the markets of the world were 



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