Happy 87th Birthday Sylvia Earle! Hero of the Planet

The CV for Sylvia Earle, who turns 87 today, is long, varied, and deep. The marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and science communicator has won a UN Lifetime Achievement Award, the Walter Cronkite Award, the Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science, and so many more.

As an undergrad student in Florida, Earle took her first scuba dive in 1953. “I thought I was going down to watch the fish, and the fish were watching me,” Earle told the New Yorker this year. “I was saying, ‘Who are you?’ And they were saying, ‘Who are you?’” As a scientist who brings maximum empathy to her observations of the life aquatic, that is perfect.

And who is she? She is National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence since 1998; the first woman chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; “Hero of the Planet,” according to Time; first woman feted at an Explorers Club Tribute Ceremony; inductee in the National Women’s Hall of Fame; and a Library of Congress Living Legend.

Perhaps the most impressive fact of Earle’s career is that it is still a work in progress. She continues her role as science communicator with some 300 speaking engagements a year, although next year she may need to take a break from that, as she leads Aurora Expeditions’ first Antarctic Climate Expedition aboard the brand-new exploration vessel, the Sylvia Earle.

Many happy returns on the day!

Photo credit: Michael AW / Aurora Expeditions