The Sea Research Society (SRS) is a non-profit organization promoting research and education in marine science and history. Founded in 1972 by underwater archaeologist Dr. E. Lee Spence, SRS undertakes archival research and underwater expeditions in search of historic shipwrecks. From 1972 to 1978, it also operated the College of Marine Arts.

History

Dr. E. Lee Spence, an underwater explorer and early pioneer in the field of

underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

, founded the Sea Research Society in 1972. In the early years, SRS was billed as a research college for marine sciences, including biology and archaeology, located in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Low Country, it is the fourth largest municipality and largest town in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growin ...

, near

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. In 1974, the SRS announced a temporary reduction in tuition at its

College of Marine Arts The College of Marine Arts was operated as the Sea Research Society's formal higher education wing from 1972 until 1978. It was initially located in Columbia, South Carolina and later moved to Mount Pleasant, outside of Charleston where it was hou ...

from $1,500 to $500 per semester. At the time, College of Marine Arts students were involved in salvaging the Confederate cruiser SS ''Georgiana'', which had been sunk en route to

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston H ...

on March 19, 1863. Although local scholars were initially skeptical of Spence's efforts, they soon appreciated the significance of his activities and offered their assistance.

Board members

The Society's founding board members included

Luis Marden Luis Marden (born Annibale Luigi Paragallo) (January 25, 1913 – March 3, 2003) was an American photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist who worked for ''National Geographic Magazine''. He worked as a photographer ...

of ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' magazine; Frederic Dumas, French underwater archaeologist of

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...

fame; Anders Franzen, Swedish underwater archaeologist and discoverer of the Swedish warship '' Vasa''; Ron A. Gibbs, Curator Armed Forces History,

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

; Paul Tzimoulis, Publisher, '' Skin Diver'' magazine;

Ed Bearss Edwin Cole Bearss (26 June 192315 September 2020) was a historian of the American Civil War, tour guide, and United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II. Personal life On 26 June 1923, Edwin Cole Bearss was born in Billings, Montana. He ...

, Senior Historian, National Park Service;

Robert F. Marx Sir Robert F. Marx (December 8, 1936 – July 4, 2019) was an American pioneer in scuba diving, a prolific author, and was best known for his work with marine archeology. Over his career, he discovered over 5000 shipwrecks in over 60 countries. ...

, undersea explorer; E. Lee Spence, Underwater Archaeology Editor, NAUI’s ''Diving World'' magazine;

Peter Throckmorton Edgerton Alvord Throckmorton (July 30, 1928 – June 5, 1990), known as Peter Throckmorton, was an American photojournalist and a pioneer underwater archaeologist. Throckmorton was a founding member of the Sea Research Society and served on its Bo ...

, "discoverer of the oldest known shipwreck;"

Pablo Bush Romero Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer *Pablo Brenes, ...

, President, CEDAM; and others of similar note. Virtually all were published authors and internationally known for their works with shipwrecks. Several have been described as the "father of underwater archaeology." Unfortunately, a number of the founding members are now deceased. Principal officers are Brad Needleman, President; Dr. E. Lee Spence, Executive Vice-President;

Jim McNeill Jim McNeill is a former scientist and British polar explorer, presenter and keynote speaker, with over 36 years of experience travelling and working in the polar regions. In 2001 McNeill founded Ice Warrior Project, an organisation which gives " ...

, VP-Arctic Expeditions; Veli Albert Kallio, VP-Environmental Affairs; and Rusty Whiting, International Training Director.

General membership

SRS Membership is open to the general public.SRS Memberships
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Expeditions

The Society has conducted numerous expeditions over the years including expeditions relating to the wrecks of the CSS ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'', SS '' Georgiana'', SW '' Mary Bowers'', SW ''

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

'', , the Confederate submarine ''

Hunley Hunley is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Con Hunley (born 1945), American country music singer *Gary Hunley (born 1948), American child actor *Helen Hunley (born 1920), Canadian politician *Horace Lawson Hunley (1823-1 ...

'', SS ''

Norseman The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...

'', CSS ''

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

'' and others.

Tax status

The United States

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

(IRS) made
determination in May 1976
that Sea Research Society is a

tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

organization under regulation

501(c) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exe ...

of the Internal Revenue Code and donations are tax deductible for income reporting purposes under section 170 of the Code.

College of Marine Arts

The Society operated its educational program under its

(first in Columbia, SC, then in Mount Pleasant, SC) from 1972 until 1978. It awarded five

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

s ''jure dignitatis'' in Marine Histories (DMH or MHD). The Society (in conjunction with the

International Diving Institute The International Diving Institute (IDI) was a private, for-profit technical school in North Charleston, South Carolina, North Charleston, South Carolina. Originally a scuba diving shop called East Coast Dive Connection (ECDC), the school was f ...

) is now offering a series of research, field and classroom courses leading to various levels of certification in underwater archaeology. The field programs offer students the opportunity to actually work on historic shipwrecks and other archaeological sites. Some degrees are awarded jure dignitatis. That is, a person who has demonstrated the appropriate qualities to be given a particular office may be awarded the degree by virtue of the office held. It is another kind of earned—but not strictly academic—degree.

References

External links

* {{authority control Underwater archaeology Educational institutions established in 1972 Research institutes in South Carolina Charities based in South Carolina Historical societies of the United States Diver organizations