R. V. Truitt

Reginald Van Trump Truitt (August 12, 1890 – April 11, 1991) was an American zoologist, Army officer, and college lacrosse player and coach. He spent his professional career studying the oyster habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Truitt founded the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at what is now the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. He also served as the first head lacrosse coach at his alma mater, the University of Maryland from 1919 to 1927. Truitt was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1959.

Early life Truitt was born on August 12, 1890, in Snow Hill, Maryland. He attended Snow Hill High School, from which he graduated in 1910. In 1924, Maryland elevated its team to the varsity level, and Truitt amassed a varsity record of 22–8–1. and remained in that post until his retirement in 1954. and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources later called him "the most respected and influential scientist of his era in the Bay region and a tireless advocate for scientific inquiry into the Chesapeake."

During the Second World War, Truitt worked for the government researching underwater sound, for which he received a commendation from the United States Navy.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inducted Truitt as a player in 1959. The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame inducted him in 1984.

For his work in the Chesapeake, Truitt received the Rachel Carson Award from the state of Maryland in 1981. After his death, the Truitt Memorial Fund was established to award scholarships for study in the marine sciences at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

Published works Kent Island: Maryland's Oldest Settlement (1965) High Winds, High Tides: A Chronicle of Maryland's Coastal Hurricanes (1968) Assateague... The "Place Across": A Saga of Assateague Island (1971) Worcester County, Maryland's Arcadia (1977)