Roll Call Tribute

Don Walsh 

November 2, 1931 - November 12, 2023 

Don Walsh was born on Nov. 2, 1931, in Berkeley, Calif., to Don and Marta Walsh. 

He graduated from Alameda High School in 1949 and from the Naval Academy, with a degree in engineering, in 1954. He became a submariner when poor eyesight kept him from becoming a pilot.

He served on a number of submarines, including as a commander. He earned a Ph.D. in oceanography from Texas A&M University in 1968 and, after retiring from the Navy in 1975 with the rank of captain, founded the Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies at the University of Southern California.

He was a member of many state and federal panels, as well as the boards of private companies, and in 2001 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 2003, he became an honorary director of the Explorers Club of New York City.