The family papers of Marston C. Sargent and his wife, Grace "Peter" Sargent, including extensive familial correspondence, photographs, and personal papers documenting their genealogical history, early years living and teaching at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, travels abroad, and Peter's writings.

Marston C. Sargent (1906-1986) was an oceanographer and inventor affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at UC San Diego for more than four decades. Sargent was born in Somerville, MA, and graduated from Harvard in 1929 with a degree in biology. He earned his doctoral degree in plant physiology and biophysics in 1934 at California Institute of Technology (marrying Grace "Peter" Tompkins on April 8, 1933) and worked for there for three years as an assistant biologist. Sargent moved to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as an assistant biochemist and later became an instructor of oceanography from 1937-1942. He was called to active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946, during which time he was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Navy's Bureau of Ships. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. After the war, Sargent returned to SIO where he held the position of assistant professor until 1951. From 1951 to 1955, Sargent was an oceanographer and head of training at the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory. In 1955, he moved to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Pasadena where he worked and remained until 1970 (serving a two-year stint in London). After leaving ONR, Sargent was the coordinator of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations until 1974.

10 Linear feet (10 record cartons, 1 map case folder, and 2 oversize folders)

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection. Copyright for all materials created by the Sargents transfers to UC Regents in 2020.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.