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Harry Hammond Hess
Science

Harry Hammond Hess

TORIma Academy — Geologist / Geophysicist

Harry Hammond Hess

Harry Hammond Hess

Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the…

Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer during World War II, widely recognized as a foundational figure in the development of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. His contributions included theories on seafloor spreading, particularly elucidating the interconnections among island arcs, seafloor gravity anomalies, and serpentinized peridotite, thereby proposing mantle convection as the primary mechanism driving this geological process.

Early Life and Education

Born in New York City on May 24, 1906, to Julian S. Hess, a New York Stock Exchange member, and Elizabeth Engel Hess, Harry Hammond Hess completed his secondary education at Asbury Park High School in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In 1923, he matriculated at Yale University, initially pursuing electrical engineering before ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science degree in geology. Despite an initial failure in mineralogy at Yale, which led to discouragement regarding his prospects in the field, Hess persevered, eventually teaching geology at Princeton University prior to the outbreak of World War II. His professional experience also included two years as an exploration geologist in Northern Rhodesia. He married Annette Burns in 1934.

Teaching Career

Harry Hess commenced his academic career with a one-year teaching appointment (1932–1933) at Rutgers University in New Jersey, followed by a year as a research associate at the Geophysical Laboratory of Washington, D.C. In 1934, he joined the faculty of Princeton University, where he remained for the duration of his career, serving as Chairman of the Geology Department from 1950 to 1966. His international engagements included visiting professorships at the University of Cape Town, South Africa (1949–1950), and the University of Cambridge, England (1965).

The Navy-Princeton Gravity Expedition to the West Indies (1932)

Hess participated in the second U.S. expedition to acquire oceanic gravity measurements, accompanying Dr. Felix Vening Meinesz of Utrecht University aboard the US Navy submarine USS S-48. This expedition utilized a gravimeter, or gravity meter, of Meinesz's design. The submarine's itinerary, conducted from February 5 to March 25, 1932, encompassed a route from Guantanamo, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, and back to Guantanamo via the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos region. The U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office subsequently published a comprehensive account of the expedition's operations and findings in The Navy-Princeton gravity expedition to the West Indies in 1932.

Military and Wartime Career

During World War II, Hess enlisted in the United States Navy, eventually commanding the USS Cape Johnson, an attack transport vessel equipped with sonar technology. This command proved instrumental in the subsequent formulation of Hess's seafloor spreading theory. While navigating to Pacific Ocean landing sites in the Marianas, Philippines, and Iwo Jima, Hess meticulously charted his routes, consistently employing the ship's echo sounder. This fortuitous wartime scientific surveying allowed Hess to compile extensive ocean floor profiles across the North Pacific Ocean, leading to the identification of flat-topped submarine volcanoes, which he designated as guyots, in homage to the 19th-century geographer Arnold Henry Guyot. Following the war, he continued his service in the Naval Reserve, achieving the rank of rear admiral.

Scientific Discoveries

Hess's most significant contribution, recognized as a pivotal advancement in 20th-century geological science, occurred in 1960. In a widely disseminated report to the Office of Naval Research, he proposed the now-accepted theory that the Earth's crust undergoes lateral movement away from extensive, volcanically active oceanic ridges. His understanding of the ocean floor profiles he had collected across the North Pacific Ocean was solidified following the 1953 discovery of the Great Global Rift along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen (Lamont Group). This process, subsequently termed Seafloor spreading, lent scientific credibility to Alfred Wegener's earlier, though largely disregarded, concept of continental drift, thereby initiating a paradigm shift in the earth sciences. Hess's seminal report was formally published in his 1962 work, History of Ocean Basins, which became, for a period, the most frequently cited publication in solid-earth geophysics. Furthermore, Hess participated in various other scientific undertakings, including the Mohole project (1957–1966), which explored the feasibility and methodologies of deep-sea drilling.

Accolades and Affiliations

Hess gained election to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1952 and the American Philosophical Society in 1960. He served as president of The Geological Society of America in 1963, subsequently receiving their Penrose Medal in 1966. In 1968, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Demise

Hess passed away from a myocardial infarction in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1969, during his tenure as chair of a Space Science Board meeting for the National Academy of Sciences. His interment occurred at Arlington National Cemetery, and he was posthumously honored with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Distinguished Public Service Award.

The Harry H. Hess Medal

In 1984, the American Geophysical Union instituted the Harry H. Hess medal as a tribute to his legacy, designed to "honor outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and sister planets."

Previous Recipients

Source

Selected Publications