Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (May 14, 1897 - May 11, 1948) commonly known as Ed Ricketts, was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. He is considered the father of modern marine ecology.
Ricketts studied zoology at the University of Chicago and was influenced by his teacher, W. C. Allee, but Ricketts dropped out without a degree.
He was fictionalized by his friend John Steinbeck as the character, "Doc", in the novels, Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday , as "Doc Burton" in In Dubious Battle, "Casy" in The Grapes of Wrath and "Doctor Winter" in The Moon is Down.
From 1927 to 1948, Rickett's Pacific Biological Laboratory at 800 Ocean View Avenue in Monterey was a salon of sorts, where writers, artists and other luminaries would gather. Bruce Ariss, Joseph Campbell, Jack London, Henry Miller, John Steinbeck, Lincoln Steffens, and Francis Whitaker were just some of the visitors who flocked to Doc's lab.
Bibliography
- Astro, Richard. (1973). John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: the shaping of a novelist. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816607044
- Astro, Richard. (1976). Edward F. Ricketts. Western Writers Series No 21. Boise State Univ. ISBN 088430020X
- Larsh, Ed. (1995). Doc's Lab: Myth & legends from Cannery Row. PBL Press.
- Ricketts, Edward F. (1939). Between Pacific Tides. Stanford University Press; 5th/Rev edition. 1992. ISBN 0804720681
- Ricketts, Edward Flanders. Hedgpeth, Joel W. (ed). (1978). Outer Shores. Mad River Press. ISBN 0916422135
- Ricketts, Edward Flanders. Hedgpeth, Joel W. (ed). (1979). Outer Shores 2: Breaking Through. Mad River Press. ISBN 0916422143
- Ricketts, Edward Flanders. Rodger, Katharine A. (2003). Renaissance Man of Cannery Row: The Life and Letters of Edward F. Ricketts. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081735087X
- Steinbeck, John. Ricketts, Edward F. (1941). Sea of Cortez: A leisurely journal of travel and research, with a scientific appendix comprising materials for a source book on the marine animals of the Panamic faunal province. Paul P Appel Pub. 1971. ISBN 0911858083
- Steinbeck, John. Astro, Richard (intro). (1995). The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Penguin Classics; Reprint edition. ISBN 0140187448
- Tamm, Eric Enno. (2004). Beyond the Outer Shores: The Untold Odyssey of Ed Ricketts, the Pioneering Ecologist Who Inspired John Steinbeck and Joseph Campbell. Four Walls Eight Windows. ISBN 1568582986
External links
- NPR: Ed Ricketts and the 'Dream' of Cannery Row
