Descriptive Summary
Scope and Content of Collection
Biography
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
OFF-SITE STORAGE
Publication Rights
Restrictions
Digital content
Descriptive Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Martin W. Johnson Papers
Creator:
Johnson, Martin W. (Martin Wiggo), 1893-1984
Identifier/Call Number: SMC 0012
Physical Description:
6.13 Linear feet
(7 archives boxes, 3 cassette boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 map case folder)
Date (inclusive): 1915-1984
Abstract: Papers of Martin W. Johnson (1893-1984), marine biologist, oceanographer, and professor emeritus at UC San Diego. Johnson
was a leader in the study of marine invertebrates and underwater acoustics. The collection contains correspondence, research,
writings, drawings, photographs, and sound recordings.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of Martin W. Johnson (1893-1984), marine biologist, oceanographer, and professor emeritus at UC San Diego. The collection
documents Johnson's scientific career and includes material dating from 1915 to 1984, including: a small selection of research
notes, data, and reports; an assortment of writings and lectures, including versions of an unpublished memoir; correspondence;
original drawings; photographs; and sound recordings. Of particular interest at Johnson's original drawings and sketches,
notes from various early expeditions and major experiments, and a small selection of photographs from the 1939-40 Gulf of
California Expedition documenting the coast and landscape of Baja California. Other photographs show rare images of early
Scripps faculty and activity aboard the R/V
E.W. Scripps.
There are gaps in the documentation and the papers are not comprehensive, containing only materials set aside by Johnson as
being significant; for example, the writings and research does not encompass all of his known work.
Arranged in 6 series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) RESEARCH, WRITINGS, AND EVENTS, 4) VISUAL RESOURCES, 5) SOUND
RECORDINGS, 6) WORKS BY OTHERS.
Biography
Martin Wiggo Johnson was born in Chandler, South Dakota on September 30, 1893. In his early years, Johnson worked as a logger
and guarded salmon traps from fish pirates. This experience fueled Johnson's interest in ecologies and science. After serving
in the army during World War I, Johnson pursued his education.
Johnson attended the University of Washington and graduated with a B.S. in 1923, followed by an M.S. in 1930 and a Ph.D. in
1932. During this time, Johnson taught in public schools. He was an associate professor at the University of Washington from
1933-1934 and the curator of the Friday Harbor biological station in 1934; that year, he was offered a position at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. During World War II, Johnson worked at the University of California Division of War Research,
where he researched underwater sounds interfering with sonar reception (identifying snapping shrimp as one source). Johnson
also developed and successfully tested a theory about the biological nature of the Deep Scattering Layer, demonstrating the
diurnal migrations of plankton in the layer in 1945. For this work, Johnson received accommodations from the U.S. Navy and
Franklin D. Roosevelt. After the war, he returned to his focus on the biogeography of the Pacific.
Martin W. Johnson is best known for his research on zooplankton, lobsters, and other marine invertebrates, and for being one
of the original co-authors of
The Oceans: Their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology (1942), the first comprehensive textbook on oceanography.
Johnson was a member of the California Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Microbiology Society, and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. In 1959, Johnson was awarded the Alexander Agassiz
Medal for his outstanding leadership in biological and general oceanography. Martin W. Johnson passed away on November 28,
1984.
Preferred Citation
Martin W. Johnson Papers. SMC 12. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1981, 1984.
OFF-SITE STORAGE
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Restrictions
Original sound recordings are restricted. Listening copies may be available for researchers.
Digital content
Selected images from this collection, including portraits, certificates, and photographs from the Gulf of California Expedition
(1939-40) have been digitized and can be viewed by searching the term "Martin W. Johnson Papers" on the UC San Diego Library
Digital Collections website.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Operation Crossroads, Marshall Islands, 1946
Oceanographers -- Photographs
Scientific expeditions -- Photographs
Johnson, Martin W. (Martin Wiggo), 1893-1984 -- Archives
E.W. Scripps (Ship)
Gulf of California Expedition (1939)
MidPac Expedition (1950)
Capricorn Expedition (1952-1953)
EASTROPAC Expedition (1967-1968)