Henry Sears (1913 – March 1982) was an American

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

who competed in the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

and discovered multiple species of

marine fish Saltwater fish, also called marine fish or sea fish, are fish that live in seawater. Saltwater fish can swim and live alone or in a large group called a school. Saltwater fish are very commonly kept in aquariums for entertainment. Many saltwater f ...

Early life

Sears began sailing at the age of eight. As a child, his family spent three months of the year in each of Boston, Massachusetts;

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

;

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

; and

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

. He attended Ecole Gory School from 1920 to 1925 and St. Mark's School from 1928 to 1930. It is unknown whether Sears later attended

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

or the Brooks School.

The Atlantis

At the

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

, Sears worked on the ship ''Atlantis'', where he measured the temperatures and salinity off the waters of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. While on the ship, he recorded and preserved several unknown fish

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, in genus Searsia of

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Platytroctidae The tubeshoulders are a family, Platytroctidae, of ray-finned fish belonging to the order Alepocephaliformes Alepocephaliformes is an order of ray-finned fish. It was previously classified as the suborder Alepocephaloidei of the order Argenti ...

: Searsia koefoedi and Searsia polycoeca. Sears' preserved specimens are now located at the Peabody Museum.

The Sears Foundation

Sears' wealthy uncle David Sears IV left him a significant inheritance. He used 85,000 to start the Sears Foundation, which published the first

Journal of Marine Research The ''Journal of Marine Research'' is an American journal, first published by Yale University in 1937, that covers peer-reviewed scientific articles and is still published today. The academic journal publishes articles Article often refers to: ...

and the book ''Fishes of the Western North America''.

World War II

With the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sears entered the program for training officers for the

U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. He served as captain of the and as commanding officer for the . At the end of the war, he was discharged and received multiple medals, including the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Sailing

Sears won the Navy Challenge Cup in 1952 and the Alumni Class Cup in 1953. In 1956, he was elected commodore of the

The America's Cup

In 1956, after a 19-year hiatus in America's Cup Racing, Sears appealed to the Supreme Court of New York to amend the Cup's deed of gift. Sears' appeal reinstated the competition in smaller

12-meter The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

yachts. He then went on to serve as the navigator of the 1958 (defender) ''Columbia'', which won the competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Henry 1913 births 1982 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II American sailors American ichthyologists America's Cup sailors Members of the New York Yacht Club 20th-century American zoologists United States Navy officers