and breadth of the Gulf of CaUfornia and visits to far-flung islands 

 off the coasts of Mexico, Central, and South America. 



Several of the expeditions have concentrated upon the equa- 

 torial Galapagos Archipelago and the vast Humboldt Current 

 which surges northwestward out of the Antarctic along the coast 

 of South America, to dissipate itself in the tropical Pacific Ocean. 



Any detailed account of the results of such extensive expedi- 

 tions would become so voluminous as to be formidable. Important 

 data and countless thousands of specimens collected on the long 

 voyages are carefully preserved in the archives of leading scientific 

 and educational institutions which have been studiously served by 

 the purposes of the expeditions. 



Product of intensive taxonomic and ecological research is the 

 growing library of scientific papers, some of them monographic in 

 scope, which are accredited to Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions. 

 Several of the best known scientists of the day in their highly spe- 

 ciaHzed fields have participated in the expeditions and contributed 

 their share to the tomes of knowledge. 



Foundations for the advancement of this scientific work have 

 been well laid and academic goals are well defined. As continuation 

 of the work passes from pioneering stages to the agenda of higher 

 education in established institutions of learning the attention of 

 scholarly minds has become focused on achievements and objectives 

 of the expeditions. 



At this milepost it is perhaps not amiss to observe that the insti- 

 tutional work involved is inseparably linked with the history of 

 Los Angeles. Inspiration to explore new frontiers and pursue scien- 

 tific lore may be found not only in the pioneer heritage of a native 

 son of forty-niners but in early association with paleontologists 

 who unearthed fossils of prehistoric mammals from viscous asphal- 

 tum of the tarry springs on old Rancho La Brea. 



In his youth Captain Hancock became imbued with that acute 

 curiosity which spurs scientists to perform the most arduous and 

 often ungrateful tasks in seeking to fathom the secrets of nature. 

 In order to supply something of that background it seems desirable 

 to present a brief biography of the man and fragmentary accounts 

 of his many activities. Light on the past may serve to illuminate 

 the present. 



