A Woman to Know: Eugenie Clark
I want to be remembered as a nice person who didn't hurt people — except my ex-husbands, maybe. —
Eugenie Clark
(image via National Geographic)
Eugenie Clark celebrated her 90th birthday underwater, doing what she loved most: swimming with sharks.
As a renowned scuba diver and marine biologist, Eugenie dedicated more than 50 years of her life to researching these "gangsters of the deep" — and clearing their reputations. In the wake of a "Jaws"-induced "shark panic" in the 1970s, Eugenie's work became all the more important.
She swam with sleeping sharks, mako sharks, hammerhead sharks and even 50-foot-long whale sharks. She liked to say nothing the ocean scared her, and nothing on land, either — nothing except for Obake, the long-haired ghost her Japanese mother would weave into her bedtime stories. Her colleagues nicknamed her "Shark Lady," and dozens of female marine biologists still credit her as their mentor and inspiration.
"I can't think of anything I regret," she once told a journalist. "I've had five husbands, four children. I've done it all, but mainly I've enjoyed studying fish and being underwater with them, looking at the fish and the fish looking at me."
Add to your library list:
Lady with a Spear (Eugenie Clark)
Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark (Ann McGovern)
Swimming with Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark (Heather Lang)
Read more:
"Shark Lady" talks aquariums, shark attacks, oil spills (Tampa Bay Times)
Eugenie Clark, Life and Scholar of the Aquatic (The New York Times)
The Life and Legacy of Dr. Eugenia Clark (Mote Marine Laboratory)
Respected scientist swam with sharks (The Los Angeles Times)
"Shark Lady" passes away after 75 years of research (Mote Marine Laboratory)
Eugenie Clark, "Shark Lady" who explored the ocean depths (The Washington Post)
Marine biologist remembered as passionate shark advocate (NPR)
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