ROBERT Ballard is a professor of oceanography and a retired Navy officer.
He is famed for his discoveries of wrecks including the RMS Titanic.
Who is Robert Ballard?
Robert Ballard was born on June 30, 1942, in Wichita, Kansas.
His father worked as a flight test engineer with the family moving to California when he was two.
From a young age, Ballard was fascinated with underwater exploration and while still a teenager his father connected him to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography alongside professional oceanographers.
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He went on to study chemistry and geology at the University of California and then joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Ballard worked as an oceanographer in the US Navy and received a PhD in marine geology and geophysics at the University of Rhode Island.
His first dive in a submersible was in 1969 in the Ben Franklin off the coast of Florida which was followed by explorations at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in 1974 and searches for hydrothermal vents in the Galapagos and Mexico.
In 2019, he undertook a search for Amelia Earhart's lost plane but came away empty handed.
When did Robert Ballard find the Titanic?
Ballard found the Titanic on September 1, 1985, thanks to his own remotely-operated underwater vehicle.
His Titanic search was funded by the Navy with Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Ronald Thunman granting the funds.
It took eight days for Ballard to find the wreck, located 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, after he used the expedition as a front for taking a look at the nuclear weapons on the sunken Scorpion sub without the Russians knowing.
He first located the Titanic’s boilers and later confirmed the full wreck had been found.
His discovery was one for the history books after the ship’s remains remained undiscovered for decades.
In February 2023, new footage of the remains taken during the 1985-1986 expedition was released.
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The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) said the trip "marked the first time that humans laid eyes on the vessel since its ill-fated voyage in 1912".
What has Robert Ballard said about the Titanic?
Ballard has been vocal about fighting the right to “salvage” the artifacts from the ship.
In an interview with CBS News, Ballard said: "We made a promise to never take anything from that ship, and to treat it with great respect.
He went on to fiercely protect the Titanic’s legacy with Congress passing the RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act of 1986 to help “provide for reasonable research, exploration, and, if appropriate, salvage activities with respect to the shipwreck."
Despite the act being passed, numerous battles have ensued over the Titanic’s artefact rights.
