Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), Naturalist-in-Charge, and Chauncey Thomas, Jr. (1850-1919), Commanding: Conflict Aboard the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross in 1902

Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928) was a pioneering ichthyologist who made major contributions to the study of fishes of the American West. As chairman of the Department ofZoology at Leland Stanford Junior University in Palo Alto, Calif., during 1891-1925, Gilbert was extremely devoted to his work and showed little patience with those ofa different mindset. While serving as Naturalist-in-Charge of the U.S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross during her exploratory expedition to the Hawaiian Islands in 1902, Gilbert engaged in an acrimonious feud with the ship's captain, Chauncey Thomas, Jr. (1850-1919), U.S.N., over what Gilbert perceived to be an inadequate effort by the captain. This essay focuses on the conflict between two strong figures, each operatingf rom different world views, and each vying for authority. Despite the difficulties these two men faced, the voyage of the Albatross in 1902 must be considered a success, as reflected by the extensive biological samples collected, the many new species of animals discovered, and the resulting publication of important scientific papers.

Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), Naturalist-in-Charge: the 1906 North Pacific Expedition of the Steamer Albatross

Fishery science pioneers often faced challenges in their field work that are mostly unknown to modern biologists. Some of the travails faced by ichthyologist and, later, fishery biologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928) during his service as Naturalist-in-Charge of the North Pacific cruise ofthe U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Steamer Albatross in 1906, are described here, as are accomplishments of the cruise. The vessel left San Francisco, Calif., on 3 May 1906, just after the great San Francisco earthquake, for scientific exploration of waters of the Aleutian islands, Bering Sea, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Japan, returning to San Francisco in December. Because the expedition occurred just after the war between Japan and Russia of 1904-05 floating derelict mines in Japanese waters were often a menace. Major storms caused havoc in the region, and the captain of the Albatross, Lieutenant Commander LeRoy Mason Garrett (1857-1906), U.S.N., was lost at sea, apparently thrown from the vessel during a sudden storm on the return leg of the cruise. Despite such obstacles, Gilbert and the Albatross successfully completed their assigned chores. They occupied 339 dredging and 48 hydrographic stations, and discovered over 180 new species of fishes and many new species of invertebrates. The expedition's extensive biological collections spawned over 30 descriptive publications, some of which remain today as standards of knowledge.

Pacific Coast of Mexico, Central America, and the Region Around the Galapagos Islands Showing Route of the Steamer Albatross, 1891 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Explorations of the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross : Lieut. Comdr. Z. L. Tanner U.S.N. Comdg. : Februrary to April 1891. It was printed for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University in 1892. Scale [ca. 1:7,500,000]. Covers the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Central America, and the region around the Galapagos Islands. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the 'Mercator' projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, human settlements, shoreline features, bays, harbors, islands, and more. Relief shown by soundings and bathymetric isolines and tints. Shows the route of the Agassiz-Albatross Cruise 1891. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection and the Harvard University Library as part of the Open Collections Program at Harvard University project: Organizing Our World: Sponsored Exploration and Scientific Discovery in the Modern Age. Maps selected for the project correspond to various expeditions and represent a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Copepods gathered by the United States Fisheries steamer Albatross from 1887 to 1909, chiefly in the Pacific Ocean /

Mode of access: Internet.

Report on the Echinoidea collected by the United States Fisheries steamer "Albatross" during the Philippine expedition, 1907-1910 ...

At head of title: Contributions to the biology of the Phillippine archipelago and adjacent regions.

Letter and Recollections of Alexander Agassiz: The 1891 Albatross Expedition

Presented here is another in the list of historic accounts of iconic research cruises of the USFC Steamer Albatross, this a reminiscence of the renowned scientist Alexander Agassiz edited by his son G. R. Agassiz, a chapter from the volume “Letters and Recollections of Alexander Agassiz,” published in 1913. Agassiz made three major cruises in the Albatross in 1891, 1899–1900, and 1904–05, adding greatly to the world’s store of specimens and knowledge of thalasography, his favored term for oceangraphy, and specifically of the Pacific Ocean. Having made important cruises and studies with the Blake in the Caribbean, he sought to do comparable research in the Pacific. His opportunity came in 1890, and with the consent of President Benjamin Harrison, he took charge of this Albatross research cruise, paying much of the expense himself. In contrast with the other ships he had been on, he found the laboratories, equipment, and furnishings to be comparatively luxurious and extremely well appointed for his work. Further, the Albatross was then captained by Lieutenant Commander Zera Luther Tanner who seemed to take as much interest in the oceanographic research as did the scientists, and Agassiz appreciated working with him, too. Little of the original text has been altered, and readers are cautioned that some of the views expressed may reflect unfortunate prejudices of that era toward individuals, nationalities, etc.

Cruises of the Albatross off San Diego and Other Parts of Southern California, 1889–1916

Between 1889 and 1916, the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross made numerous trips to waters off southern California, particularly in and near San Diego Bay. The typical pattern for many years was to conduct cruises in waters off the Pacific Northwest or Alaska in summer months and waters off southern California in winter months. The Albatross conducted the first depth soundings and benthic profiles for southern California waters and secured the first samples of many endemic marine animals of this region. Albatross collections formed the basis for numerous definitive monographs of invertebrates and vertebrates that were published in subsequent years. The Albatross anchored in San Diego Bay in 1894, conducting the first biological investigations of the bay, and returned to sample again in many subsequent years. The ship and its crew also examined Cortez and Tanner banks for exploitation potential and conducted the first biological investigations of southern California’s tuna stocks in 1915 and 1916.

Agassiz, Garman, Albatross, and the Collection of Deep-sea Fishes

The first of Alexander Agassiz’ voyages on the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross in 1891 yielded significant scientific results. This paper reviews the background of the voyage, including the career path that led Agassiz to the back deck of the Albatross. We also give a brief account of the life and work of Samuel Garman. Garman wrote up the ichthyological material from this Albatross voyage in a magnificent book on deep-sea fishes published in 1899. This book was exceptional in its coverage, anatomical detail, and recognition of phylogenetically important morphology.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the Albatross 1884 stations

he exploration of the Gulf Stream region was continued in 1884, under nearly the same conditions as in 1883, by the steamer Albatross, Lieut. Z. L. Tanner, commander. During the four trips, between July 20 and Sept. 13, sixty nine dredgings (at stations 2170 to 2238) were made. The results were highly satisfactory, both in the way of physical observatidns and zoological discoveries. In some localities, in 1000 to 1600 fathoms, the bottom was found covered with 0or largely composed of hard, very irregular, flattened, crust-like concretions of clay and iron-oxide, with more or less manganese?oxide in the crevices and worm-burrows with which they are filled. Sometimes a barrel-full, or more, of such masses were brought up, varying in size from a few ounces up to 20 pounds or more in weight alld from one inch to six inches in thickness.

Stanford University’s John Otterbein Snyder: Student, Collaborator, and Colleague of David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert

John Otterbein Snyder (1867–1943) was an early student of David Starr Jordan at Stanford University and subsequently rose to become an assistant professor there. During his 34 years with the university he taught a wide variety of courses in various branches of zoology and advised numerous students. He eventually mentored 8 M.A. and 4 Ph.D. students to completion at Stanford. He also assisted in the collection of tens of thousands of fish specimens from the western Pacific, central Pacific, and the West Coast of North America, part of the time while stationed as “Naturalist” aboard the U.S. Fish Commission’s Steamer Albatross (1902–06). Although his early publications dealt mainly with fish groups and descriptions (often as a junior author with Jordan), after 1910 he became more autonomous and eventually rose to become one of the Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., experts on the West Coast. Throughout his career, he was especially esteemed by colleagues as “a stimulating teacher,” “an excellent biologist,” and “a fine man.

My Days on the Albatross

Navigation and surveying formed a connecting link, as it were, between what was getting to be called the “Old Navy” and what was soon to take shape as a “New Navy.” Seamanship, as an art of special character, was beginning to change its form with the passing of sail power and its supersession by the steam engine; while requiring in its new form no less ability and practiced judgment in the handling of large ships, it offered a diminished field for expertness in craft of only moderate size and speed among officers doing simple watch duty not in company with other ships; and, therefore, it was threatened with a materially lessened regard.

The Great Albatross Philippine Expedition and Its Fishes

The Philippine Expedition of 1907-10 was the longest and most extensive assignment of the Albatross's 39-year career. It came about because the United States had acquired the Philippines following the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the bloody Philippine Insurection of 1899-1902. The purpose of the expedition was to surbey and assess the aquatic resources of the Philippine Islands. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, the Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, was the Director of the Expedition. Other scientific participants were Frederick M. Chamberlain, Lewis Radcliffe, Paul Bartsch, Harry C. Fasset, Clarence Wells, Albert Burrows, Alvin Seale, and Roy Chapman Andrews. The expedition consisted of a series of cruises, each beginning and ending in Manila and exploring a different part of the island group. In addition to the Philippines proper, the ship also explored parts of the Dutch East Indies and areas around Hong Kong and Taiwan. The expedition returned great quantities of fish and invertebrate speciments as well as hydrographic and fisheries data; most of the material was eventually deposited in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The fisehs were formally accessioned into the museum in 1922 and fell under the car of Barton A. Bean, Assistant Curator of Fishes, who then recruited Henry W. Fowler to work up the material. Fowler completed his studies of the entire collection, but only part of it was ever published, due in part to the economic constraints caused by the Depression. The material from the Philippine Expedition constituted the largest single accession of fishes ever received by the museum. These speciments are in good condition today and are still being used in scientific research.