Geologist & Historian

Dr. Ralph Eshelman is a specialist in the natural and cultural sciences, particularly in geology, vertebrate paleontology, and American maritime and military history. He received his PhD in 1974 from the University of Michigan with a major in geology and vertebrate paleontology and a minor in ecology. His earlier studies were at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Bachelors of Science in earth and space science and minor in zoology) and the University of Iowa (Master of Science in geology and vertebrate paleontology and minor in museum studies). Ralph has published over 70 scientific and historical publications and is the author of five books.

From 1975 to 2005, Ralph was a research associate in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. He’s active in several professional and civic organizations including past president of the Council of American Maritime Museums and founding vice-president of the National Maritime Preservation Task Force of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Ralph’s research interests have taken him to all corners of the globe, including Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, the Canadian High Arctic, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Peruvian Amazon, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Netherlands, England, and Russia. He has served as geologist and historian on expedition adventure ships to the Antarctic, Arctic, Norway, Svalbard, Iceland, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, Canadian Maritime Provinces, Great Lakes, Chile, Argentina, Mediterranean, Baltic, Japan, Azores, Canary Islands, and most of the major island groups of the South Pacific.