Marie Tharp (1920 - 2006)

Born 30 Jul 1920 in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ancestors

Died 23 Aug 2006 at age 86 in Nyack, New York

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Biography

Marie Tharp is Notable.

First person to draw a map of the ocean floor and identified the rift valley.

In her words:

"I worked in the background for most of my career as a scientist, but I have absolutely no resentments. I thought I was lucky to have a job that was so interesting. Establishing the rift valley and the mid-ocean ridge that went all the way around the world for 40,000 miles—that was something important. You could only do that once. You can’t find anything bigger than that, at least on this planet." ~Marie Tharp, Connect the Dots: Mapping the Seafloor and Discovering the Mid-ocean Ridge, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia: Twelve Perspectives on the First Fifty Years 1949-1999

Marie Tharp was born on 30 Jul 1920 in Ypsilanti, Michigan to William Edgar Tharp (soil surveyor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils^[1]) and Bertha Tharp. Bertha was an instructor in German and Latin; her father, William, made soil classification maps for the U.S. Department of Agriculture^[1].

Marie passed away on 23 Aug 2006 in Nyack, New York.

• 1943 Bachelors in English and Music (plus four minors^[1]), Ohio University^[2]<^[3]
• 1944 Masters in Petroleum Geology, Univeristy of Michigan^[3]

Geologist, Standard Oil & Gas

• 1948 Bachelors in Mathematics
• Research Assistant, Lamont Geological Laboratory, Columbia University
  • World Ocean Floor Panorama (map)^[3]
  • 1953 Idientified the Mid-Atlantic Ridge^[3] >> later supported by Jacques Cousteau video evidence obtained because he didn't believe her premise and wanted to prove her wrong. He found the evidence supporting her conclusions right where she had said it would be.^[3]
• Map-making business in South Nyack, NY^[4], Marie Tharp Maps LLC

• 1978 National Geographic Society Hubbard Award (with Heezen)
• 1996 Outstanding Achievement Award, Society of Women Geographers^[4]
• 1997 20th Century Outstanding Cartographers, Phillips Society, Library of Congress^[4]
• 1999 Women's Pioneer in Oceanography Award, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution^[5]
• 17 July 2001 Lamont-Doherty Honors Award, Columbia University^[5] / Lamont-Doherty Heritage Award^[3][6]
• Marie Tharp Lamont Research Professorship established at Columbia University^[7]
• November 21, 2022 Google Doodle ^[8]

• died of cancer

Images

• Copyrighted image available on Wikipedia page: here
• Cartographer, Geologist, and Oceanographer Marie Tharp
• Former Associate Librarian for Library Services Winston Tabb and Librarian of Congress James H. Billington meet with geologist/cartographer Marie Tharp to review her pioneering effort (along with that of marine geologist Bruce Heezen) to chart the floor of the Atlantic Ocean
• Marie Tharp: The Woman Who Mapped The Ocean Floor (Image Gallery)
• Meet Marie Tharp the controversial geologist who produced the first ever map of the Ocean floor: Photo of Marie surveying soil when she was a child, Walking (possibly in her University years), Working on her map
• The Way the World Works: The Globe that Marie Tharp (and Bruce Heezen) made is now in the Library of Congress Geography & Map Division.
• Pinterest board dedicated to Marie Tharp
• Four facts about Marie Tharp, the woman whose art mapped the bottom of the sea - illustrations depicting Tharp and her scientific contributions, photo of her and Weezen studying their wall map

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Tharp, Marie. "Connect the Dots: Mapping the Seafloor and Discovering the Mid-ocean Ridge." Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia: Twelve Perspectives on the First Fifty Years 1949-1999. Edited by Laurence Lippsett. as posted at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. whoi.edu. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
2. ↑ Women Rock Science. "[Meet Marie Tharp the controversial geologist who produced the first ever map of the Ocean floor." A Room Of Our Own. 21 Dec 2015. aroomofourown.org. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Freund, Cassie. "Four facts about Marie Tharp, the woman whose art mapped the bottom of the sea." Massive Science. 1 Feb 2018. Massivesci.com. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "The Ages of Exploration: Marie Tharp." The Mariners' Museum and Park (site). Marinersmuseum.org Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Evans, Rachel. "Plumbing Depths to Reach New Heights: Marie Tharp Explains Marine Geological Maps." Library of Congress Information Bulletin. Nov 2002. Vol. 61. No. 11. www.loc.gov. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
6. ↑ Bizzarro, Danielle. "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Bestows Heritage Award on Marie Tharp." Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, The Earth Institute at Columbia University. News. 05 July 2001. Columbia.edu. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
7. ↑ Aronsohn, Marie Denoia. "Lamont’s Marie Tharp: She Drew the Maps That Shook the World." New from the Earth Institute / State of the Planet. 27 July 2020. Columbia.edu. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
8. ↑ https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-marie-tharp

• Marie Tharp on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Wikidata: Item Q538786, en:Wikipedia
• "The Scientist Who Mapped the Seafloor: Marie Tharp | Great Minds." SciShow (channel). 29 Jan 2021. YouTube.com. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
• Marriage: "Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993", database with images, Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61378 #903083147 (accessed 15 May 2023), Marie Tharp (25) marriage to David C Flanagan on 29 Jan 1946 in Logan, Ohio, USA.

See Also:

• "The Ages of Exploration: Marie Tharp." The Mariners' Museum and Park (site). Marinersmuseum.org Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
• Felt, Hall. "Marie Tharp: The Woman Who Mapped The Ocean Floor." HuffPost. 28 Aug 2012. huffpost.com. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.
• Earth Institute. "Join Us in Celebrating #MarieTharp100." New from the Earth Institute / State of the Planet. 23 July 2020. Columbia.edu. Accessed 31 Jan 2021.