George H. Scripps Laboratory NHL
San Diego, San Diego County, California
Marker Inscription
George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory has been designated a National Historic Landmark Under the provisions of the Nationa Historic Preservation Act of 1966 this site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America National Park Service United States Department of the Interior 1982
Erected by National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior
The Story
In 1982 the National Park Service designated the George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its national significance in the story of American science. The 1910 building was among the founding structures of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The designation places it among the most important historic sites in the country.
Why it matters
National Historic Landmark status affirms the laboratory's central place in the birth of American oceanographic research.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · George H. Scripps
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
George H. Scripps Marine Biological Laboratory
San Diego, CA
Completed in 1910, the George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory stands as one of the founding structures of what became the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The City of San Diego designated it Historical Site No. 119 in recognition of its role in the region's scientific heritage. From this modest beginning grew a world-leading center for the study of the sea.
George H. Scripps Laboratory
San Diego, CA · est. 1977
Designed by the noted architect Irving Gill and built in 1909–1910, this is the oldest oceanographic laboratory building in the United States. Over the years it served as a working lab, public aquarium, classroom, and director's office, and generations of leaders in ocean science received their training within its walls. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Scholander Hall
San Diego, CA · est. 1989
Completed in 1965 and dedicated in 1989, Scholander Hall honors Per Fredrik Scholander (1905–1980), founder and first director of the physiological research laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A pioneering comparative physiologist, Scholander studied how living things adapt to extreme environments, from diving seals to Arctic cold. The building carries his name into the ongoing work of ocean and life science at Scripps.
The Keeling Curve
San Diego, CA · est. 2015
In 1958, Scripps scientist Charles David Keeling launched a program to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide from the newly built Mauna Loa Observatory and other sites worldwide. Within two years his data revealed both the Earth's natural seasonal CO2 rhythm and — more consequentially — a steady, relentless annual rise, which he linked to the burning of fossil fuels. His insistence on continuous, precise measurement turned the resulting Keeling Curve into one of the defining records of modern science.