George R. Fischer
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
underwater archaeologist
Underwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
, considered the founding father of the field in the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. A native California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n, he did undergraduate and graduate work at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and began his career with the National Park Service in 1959, which included assignments in six parks, the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Office, and the Southeast Archaeological Center from which he retired in 1988. He began teaching courses in underwater archaeology at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in 1974 and co-instructed inter-disciplinary courses in scientific diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
techniques. After retirement from the NPS his FSU activities were expanded and his assistance helped shape the University's renowned Program in Underwater Archaeology.
Fischer is a true pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology and his students are now professors in the U.S. and abroad, serve as state, federal, and territorial archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, direct non-profit research organizations, and work in the private sector. He founded and oversaw the underwater archaeology program for the National Park Service in 1972, and was involved with many of the early shipwreck excavations that are now required reading in introductory textbooks (such as the 1554 Padre Island galleons, 1733 galleon San Jose, 1622 galleon Rosario, 1748 British warship HMS Fowey
HMS Fowey (1744)
HMS Fowey was a fifth rate warship of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 August 1744 in Hull, England. She spent only four years in commission before she struck a reef and sank in what is known today as Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park, off the coast of Florida...
, 1865 Steamboat Bertrand
Steamboat Bertrand
The Steamboat Bertrand was owned by the J.J. Roe and Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Loaded with cargo heading for remote Virginia City, Montana Territory, the steamboat sank on April 1, 1865, after hitting a log in the Missouri River north of Omaha, Nebraska. Half of its cargo was recovered 100...
). Fischer taught, as a volunteer at no cost to the university, for almost 30 years at Florida State University, which enabled their underwater archaeology program and introduced hundreds of students to this field.
Personal life
Fischer was born in SusanvilleSusanville, California
Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the south-central part of the county, at an elevation of 4186 feet . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the 2000 census...
, Lassen County
Lassen County, California
Lassen County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,895, up from 33,828 at the 2000 census...
, to George August Fischer, a forester
Forester
250px|thumb|right|Foresters of [[Southern University of Chile|UACh]] in the [[Valdivian forest]]s of San Pablo de Tregua, ChileA forester is a person who practices forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including timber...
with the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
, and Ruth Robertson Fischer, a school teacher. He was raised in various small towns in northern California, including Alturus, Quincy
Quincy, California
Quincy is a census-designated place and the county seat of Plumas County, California. The population was 1,728 at the 2010 census, down from 1,879 at the 2000 census. Quincy is named after the city of Quincy, Illinois...
and Tulelake
Tulelake, California
Tulelake is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is named after the nearby Tule Lake. The population was 1,010 at the 2010 census, down from 1,020 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tulelake is located at ....
. While in Tulelake, his mother taught school children at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center
Tule Lake War Relocation Center
Tule Lake Segregation Center National Monument was an internment camp in the northern California town of Newell near Tule Lake. It was used in the Japanese American internment during World War II. It was the largest and most controversial of the camps, and did not close until after the war, in...
, and found it more convenient to bring young George along and teach him with the interned Japanese
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
children. Fischer soon distinguished himself as the only Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
child that was hurling stones at the guards during recess.
He met his wife, Nancy (Jane) George Fischer while attending Stanford and they were married on June 20, 1961. Nancy gave birth to their only child, George Matthew Fischer, on May 9, 1963, while Fischer was stationed at Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. George and Nancy currently reside in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
.
Education
Fischer attended Stanford University, performing his Undergraduate work from 1955 to 1960 and earning his Bachelor of Arts in AnthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, with minor concentrations in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. He continued with graduate school at Stanford from 1960–62 and has completed all requirements for his Master of Arts in Anthropology except thesis. Fischer dabbled part-time as a special student at Florida State University from 1972 to 1973 while employed at the Southeast Archaeological Center.
Employment
George Fischer was employed with the National Park Service from 1959 to 1988, starting as a seasonal Park RangerPark ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
and archaeologist from 1959 to 1962 in Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was created in 1906 to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world...
and Wupatki National Monument
Wupatki National Monument
The Wupatki National Monument is a National Monument located in north-central Arizona, near Flagstaff. Rich in Native American ruins, the monument is administered by the National Park Service in close conjunction with the nearby Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.Wupatki was listed on the...
. In 1962 he became a full-time employee with the NPS as Park Archaeologist at Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to...
, and in 1964 he took a position as the Park Archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
at Ocmulgee National Monument. In 1966 Fischer moved on to become a Staff Archaeologist at the Division of Archaeology and Anthropology for the NPS in Washington, D.C. There Fischer performed general archaeological resource management and research and was able to pursue interests in underwater archaeology.
1972 saw Fischer transferring to Tallahassee to take a position as a Research Archaeologist at the Southeast Archaeological Center, and that center's close association with the Florida State University Department of Anthropology led to Fischer’s work with archaeology faculty and students there. Upon his retirement from the NPS in 1988, Fischer became a Courtesy Assistant Professor for the Department of Anthropology. During his tenure at Florida State, he served as an instructor of underwater archaeology courses, lectured on topics relating to underwater archaeology for courses in historical archaeology, public archaeology, and Southeast colonial history, and assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through the Academic Diving Program. Fischer’s instruction and mentoring capacities lessened in the late 1990s as he shifted more into retirement mode.
Archaeological Achievements
George Fischer served as principal investigator on field projects undertaken through his Park Service and FSU career in two areas of Gulf Islands National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of 7 islands...
; Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos
The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...
, Fort Jefferson, and Fort Matanzas National Monument
Fort Matanzas National Monument
Commemorated in 1924, Fort Matanzas National Monument is a United States National Monument run by the National Park Service. The Monument consists of a 1740 Spanish fort, Fort Matanzas, and about 100 acres of salt marsh and barrier islands along the Matanzas River on the northern Atlantic coast...
s in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; and Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spanish raids. About 630 British troops were stationed at...
in Georgia. Projects in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
outside the National Park System included investigations at Fort Picolata, St. John’s County; Survey for HMS Fox (1799)
HMS Fox (1780)
HMS Fox was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 2 June 1780 at Bursledon, Hampshire by George Parsons.She was broken up in April 1816....
St. George Island; Survey of Ballast Cove, Dog Island http://www.anthro.fsu.edu/research/uw/research/ships/dog_island/; an underwater survey http://flheritage.com/archaeology/underwater/fsu_pua/docs/PUAResearchReport05.pdf of Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs is located south of Tallahassee, Florida and east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267...
, a project involving applications of underwater archaeological techniques to crime scene investigation for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and several investigations of shipwreck sites in Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
. Also he taught portions of workshops the Academic Diving Program has sponsored for outside agencies.
Montezuma Well
In the earliest underwater archaeological investigations by the Park Service (October, 1968), Fischer directed a survey and testing of Montezuma WellMontezuma Well
Montezuma Well , a detached unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument, is a natural limestone sinkhole near Rimrock, Arizona through which some of water flow each day through two underground springs. It is located northeast of Montezuma Castle. The well measures in at across and deep. The...
, Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Steamboat Bertrand
From July to September, 1969, Fischer served as field coordinator on the excavation of the 19th century Steamboat BertrandSteamboat Bertrand
The Steamboat Bertrand was owned by the J.J. Roe and Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Loaded with cargo heading for remote Virginia City, Montana Territory, the steamboat sank on April 1, 1865, after hitting a log in the Missouri River north of Omaha, Nebraska. Half of its cargo was recovered 100...
, Desoto National Wildlife Refuge
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
|DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1958, is located along the banks of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Iowa and Nebraska. The 8,362-acre refuge preserves an area that would had been otherwise lost to cultivation...
, Missouri Valley
Missouri Valley, Iowa
Missouri Valley is a city in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,992 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Missouri Valley's longitude and latitude coordinatesin decimal form are 41.558912, -95.893926...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Over 200,000 items were excavated from the wreck, whole objects in incredible condition, still packed in the original crates, with the names of the manufacturers, shippers and consignees; all dated to the morning of April 1, 1865. This opened his eyes to the "time capsule" nature of historic shipwreck sites, allowing one to see a specific day and an event caught in time, rather than working with fragments of artifacts and historical trash.
Padre Island National Seashore
In 1970 George Fischer headed up what came to be one of the first serious underwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
investigations by National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
starting with a terrestrial metal detector survey and preliminary assessment of underwater archaeological resources at Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore is a National Seashore located on Padre Island off the coast of South Texas. In contrast to South Padre Island , PINS is located on North Padre Island and consists of a long beach where nature is preserved...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Preliminary research led to an underwater archaeological
Underwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
survey of 1554 Spanish Plate Fleet wrecks there, and excavation of the Galleon San Esteban, sponsored by Texas Antiquities Committee
Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas....
.
Fort Jefferson
Fort Jefferson is a US Third System Fort 70 miles west of Key WestKey West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, and is the largest brick masonry fortification in the western hemisphere. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Fischer led evaluations of underwater archaeological resources, limited underwater archaeological survey and excavations, and extensive underwater archaeological survey and testing activities. The 1969 work marked the first extensive shipwreck survey by the NPS on park property, noting more than 20 sites. He also participated with staff of Earth Satellite Corporation
EarthSat
Earth Satellite Corporation was an early pioneer in the commercial use of Earth observation satellites. Founded in 1969, EarthSat was first headquartered in Washington, D.C. and later moved its offices to Bethesda, Maryland and finally to Rockville, Maryland in the late 1980s. In 2001, EarthSat...
in a remote sensing survey for historic shipwreck sites, and assisted in analysis of data.
1622 galleon Rosario
In the summer of 1981 and 1982 Fischer directed underwater archaeological investigations of what is considered the wreck of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario of the 1622 Spanish fleet, as well as an unidentified patache of the 1622 Spanish fleet. This investigation revealed what could represent one of the patache that was sent to salvage the Rosario less than a month after the hurricane, possibly documenting the speed with which the Spanish salvaged their own wrecks.HMS Fowey
HMS FoweyHMS Fowey (1744)
HMS Fowey was a fifth rate warship of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 August 1744 in Hull, England. She spent only four years in commission before she struck a reef and sank in what is known today as Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park, off the coast of Florida...
was a fifth rate British warship, carrying 44 guns and over 200 men, captained by a descendant of Sir Francis Drake’s brother. It had scored victories over French and Spanish ships in battle, but was lost on a reef at what is now known as the Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive...
in 1748. The sunken vessel became the subject of an ownership dispute with a part-time treasure salver that presumed it was part of the Spanish treasure fleet
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
. Through legal battles and systematic surveys of the 1980s and 1990s, George Fischer and his staff from the Park Service and students from Florida State University not only identified the sunken vessel but won a legal battle that effectively changed how Admiralty Law was applied to submerged shipwreck sites. The court found that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was to be applied to submerged shipwreck sites as it is to historic sites on land, no longer allowing plundering by individuals using marine salvage
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
and Admiralty Law
Admiralty law
Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...
to profiteer from the non-archaeological salvage of a historic shipwreck in National Park grounds. This activity is seen by many of his colleagues and former students as George Fischer’s defining act.
Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology
Fischer was also a founding member of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, an international committee of the Society for Historical Archaeology which provides advice and assistance to governments, institutions, and individuals on matters relating to the field. He currently holds emeritus status.FSU ADP
During the period of Fischer's tenure as a courtesy professor the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory (FSUCML) Academic Diving Program (ADP)--established in 1975—grew to be one of the largest and most active diving research, support, and training programs in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Marine Lab and Academic Diving Program traditionally supports the research diving needs of faculty and students from many departments, as well as several outside agencies, including the Florida Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency. Fischer assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through the Florida State University Academic Diving Program from 1976 through his retirement from the Park Service in 1988, and continued as a co-instructor until 2003. His input and continuity over three decades was instrumental in the expansion and ongoing development of this program.
Publications
George Fischer, with primary author and former student Russell Skowronek, authored the book HMS Fowey Lost and Found: Being the Discovery, Excavation, and Identification of a British Man-of-War Lost off the Cape of Florida in 1748, published by the University Press of Florida on January 26, 2009.Awards and honors
- The George R. Fischer Laboratory of Underwater Archaeology – dedicated to George Fischer in the Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
Department of Anthropology. - Lifetime Achievement Award – LAMP and the St. Augustine Lighthouse awarded Fischer with the Lifetime Achievement award, for his “many contributions to the field of underwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
, and to the education of this and future generations of underwater archaeologistsUnderwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
” on March 21, 2007. - The George R. Fischer Library of Maritime Archaeology - In March 2007, LAMP announced during the first annual Northeast Florida Symposium on Underwater Archaeology that retired FSU professor emeritus George R. Fischer had donated his personal library to LAMP, to form the core of a first-class research library.
- A session of papers in honor of George R Fischer was presented at the 41st annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 10, 2008.
- On January 8, 2010, at the 43rd annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology at Amelia Island in Northeast Florida, Fischer was presented with the Society for Historical Archaeology's Award of Merit "for his many contributions to the development of underwater archaeology and for his exemplary service on the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology."