Harry A. Marmer

Harry A. Marmer (June 21, 1885 – November 5, 1953) was a Russian-born American engineer, mathematician and oceanographer who was a career employee of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. He was an internationally recognized expert on tides and currents.

Early life Harry Aaron Marmer was born in Proskuriv in the Russian Empire (now Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine) on June 21, 1885, the son of Isaac Dove (or Baer) Marmer (or Marnier) and the former Rechoma Segal. He emigrated to the United States in 1889. Leaving the real estate company, Marmer accepted a position as a mathematician with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey's Division of Tides and Currents in 1907. He became Chief Tidal Mathematician and Chief of the Section of Field Work of the division. In 1920, he became assistant chief of the Division of Tides and Currents, a post he held until his retirement. He returned to Rutgers to earn a master's degree, which he received in 1931. Coastal Currents along the Pacific Coast of the United States, Tidal Datum Planes, He was the author of two books, The Tide and The Sea, which became standard texts on their subjects. His publications were considered so authoritative that the United States Supreme Court used them in cases involving riparian rights. Another significant award was the Alexander Agassiz Medal, which he received in 1951 from the National Academy of Sciences.

Personal and professional life

Marmer married the former Hazel Ellison Dakin on November 16, 1916.

Commemoration

The Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ship USC&GS Marmer, which operated along the United States East Coast studying tides and currents from 1957 to 1968, was named for Marmer.