Robert Duane Ballard was born on the 30th June 1942, in Wichita, Kansas USA, and is an underwater archaeologist, professor of oceanography and founder and director of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island (URI), also serving in the US armed forces He became known mainly for locating the wrecks of the Titanic and Bismarck. Among others awards, he is the winner of American Geological Institute Award, Lindbergh Award, Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society.
How much is the net worth of Robert Ballard? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the overall size of his net worth is as much as $10 million, as of the data presented in the middle of 2017, earned during his career in oceanography and archaeology which began in the mid-‘60s.
Robert Ballard Net Worth $10 Million
To begin with, Ballard is the son of Chester Patrick Ballard, who worked at North American Aviation as chief engineer of the Minuteman program, and his wife Harriet Nell. He became interested in the deep sea through books, movies and television films about the underwater world such as about “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Jacques Cousteau”. In 1965, Ballard graduated in chemistry and geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, then from the University of Hawaii he graduated earning a Master of Science (MS) in geophysics in 1966. In 1974, he promoted a mapping work of the seabed of the Gulf of Maine in the geological oceanography department at the University of Rhode Island. Ballard belonged to the expedition team in 1977, which for the first time explored submarine hydrothermal sources, the so-called Black Smokers, near the Galapagos Islands with the research vessel Alvin. These sources have a temperature of about 400 ° C and emit a fountain of black, smoky water. A water sample yielded a pH of 2.8, which corresponds to the acidity of white wine.
Moreover, Ballard is known for locating numerous shipwrecks. On the 1st September 1985, together with Jean-Louis Michel, he found the wreck of the Titanic, which had sunk in 1912. He financed the search by first inspecting in a secret mission on behalf of the US Navy the remains of the sunken US nuclear submarines USS Scorpion and USS Thresher with a dive robot. He also discovered the German battleship Bismarck and the US American carrier USS Yorktown from the World War II. At the end of the 1980s Ballard found a Phoenician ship from the 7th century BC, one of the oldest wrecks ever found. In 1995, he dived again with the US Navy deep-diving boat NR-1 in the Mediterranean after wrecks on a trade route between Carthage and Rome. From 1999 until the end of 2000, Ballard and his team carried out a series of expeditions along the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, looking for remains of artefacts to prove the fact that the previous, inland coast of the Black Sea had already been populated by humans. In the west of Sinope, three old shipwrecks were discovered at a depth of 100 m. Wreck A and Wrck C were estimated to be from the late Roman Empire (2nd to 4th century AD), while Wreck B was attributed to the Late Byzantine Empire (5th to 7th century AD). At the end of 2000, Ballard found traces of an ancient settlement on the coastal shelf of the Black Sea.
Finally, in the personal life of Ballard, he was married to Marjorie Constance Jacobsen; they had two children before divorcing in 1990. At the beginning of 1991, he married the documentary producer Barbara Hanford Earle; they also have two children.
Emily Ballard, Doug Ballard, Ben Ballard, Todd Ballard
Parents
Harriet Nell Ballard, Terry Ballard, Chet Ballard
Siblings
Nancy Ballard, Richard Ballard
Nicknames
Dr Robert Ballard , Robert Duane Ballard , Dr. Robert Duane Ballard , Bob Ballard , Robert D. Ballard , Dr. Robert D. Ballard , Dr. Robert R. Ballard , Dr. Robert B. Ballard
National Humanities Medal (2003), American Geological Institute Award, Kilby International Awards (1994), Lindbergh Award, Hubbard Medal (National Geographic Society, 1996), Caird Medal (2002), Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award (1990), Ballard its Lone Sailor Award (U.S. Navy Memorial Fou...
Movies
The Living Sea (TV movie 1995), Lost Ships of the Mediterranean (1997), Avalon: Beyond the Abyss (1999), Titanic: 90 Years Below (2002), Titanic: Death of a Dream (1994), Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack (2001)
TV Shows
SeaQuest 2032 (1993-1994)
#
Quote
1
Forever may it remain that way. And may God bless these now-found souls. [Expressing his hope that the Titanic would not be disturbed]
2
The Titanic will protect itself. [on discovering that the ship's bow is too damaged and too deeply buried in the ocean bottom to be plundered by treasure hunters]
3
It is a quiet and peaceful place-and a fitting place for the remains of this greatest of sea tragedies to rest. [on descending to the wreck of the RMS Titanic 73 years after it sank with more than 1,500 passengers on board, quoted in the NY Times, 10 September 1985]
#
Fact
1
Works with National Geographic and Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut.
2
Is a big Red Sox fan.
3
Has two children from first marriage, Todd (deceased) and Doug (married with one child). Has two children from present marriage, Ben (b. 1994) and Emily (b. 1998)
4
Received an MS from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
5
He has explored many under water shipwrecks including the Britannic (Titanic's sister ship), Isis (an ancient Greek ship), and the ocean liner Lusitania.
6
He is a former student and employee of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
7
The name of the submarine that he uses on many under water adventures is "Alvin."
8
Most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, sunk 1912; the DKM Bismarck in 1989, sunk 1941; the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998, sunk 1941; and John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2002, sunk 1943.
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Lost Ships of the Mediterranean
1999
TV Movie documentary chief scientist - as Robert D. Ballard
Avalon: Beyond the Abyss
1999
TV Movie technical advisor
The Living Sea
1995
Documentary short academic advisor: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - as Dr. Robert Ballard
SeaQuest 2032
1993-1994
TV Series technical consultant - 23 episodes
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Ghost of the Baltic Sea
2005
TV Movie documentary executive producer
Titanic Revealed
2004
TV Movie documentary executive producer
Lost Liners
2000
TV Movie documentary co-producer - as Robert D. Ballard
National Geographic Explorer
1999
TV Series documentary co-producer - 1 episode
Nova
1999
TV Series documentary consulting producer - 1 episode
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Search for PT 109
2003
Documentary executive creative director
National Geographic Video: Secrets of the Titanic
1986
Video documentary as Dr. Robert D. Ballard
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Sea Spies
2003
TV Movie
Narrator
Camera Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Nova
2015
TV Series documentary underwater camera - 1 episode
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Life's A Dive
2014
Documentary short thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Perspectives on Ocean Exploration
2015
Documentary
Himself
60 Minutes
2009-2015
TV Series documentary
Himself - Explorer (segment "The Unknown America") / Himself (segment "The Great Explorer")
Nova
2015
TV Series documentary
Himself
Shipwrecked on a Great Lake
2014
Himself - Oceanographer
Titanic Belfast: City of a Thousand Launches
2014
Documentary
Himself
Piers Morgan Tonight
2014
TV Series
Himself
Gallipoli's Lost Shipwrecks
2014
TV Movie
Himself
Descent Into the Depts
2013
Documentary short
Himself
First Voyage to the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
2013
Video documentary short
Himself - Expert
Q with Jian Ghomeshi
2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
CBS This Morning: Saturday
2012
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Alien Deep with Bob Ballard
2012
TV Series
Himself - Host
Save the Titanic with Bob Ballard
2012
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Colbert Report
2009-2012
TV Series
Himself - Guest / National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence / Himself
Extreme Universe
2010
TV Series documentary
Himself - Oceanographer
Undercover History
2008
TV Series
Himself
Titanic: Ballard's Secret Mission
2008
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Naked Science
2007
TV Series documentary
Himself
Wild Chronicles
2005-2006
TV Series documentary
Himself
National Geographic Explorer
1985-2002
TV Series documentary
Himself - Underwater Explorer / Himself - Undersea Explorer / Himself / ...
Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers
2002
TV Series
Himself
Titanic: 90 Years Below
2002
Video documentary
Himself
The Quest for Noah's Flood
2001
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack
2001
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Lost Liners
2000
TV Movie documentary
Himself (as Robert Ballard)
The Titanic's Lost Sister
1996
TV Movie documentary
Expedition Leader
Titanic: Death of a Dream
1994
TV Movie documentary
Himself (director: center of marine exploration, woods hole oceanographic institute) (as Robert Ballard)
Jason V: Expedition Planet Earth
1994
TV Movie documentary
Wildlife Wars USA: Bears Under Siege
1991
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Host
Reading Rainbow
1990
TV Series
Himself
National Geographic Video: Secrets of the Titanic
1986
Video documentary
Himself
Titanic: The Nightmare and the Dream
1986
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Living Seas
1986
TV Movie
Himself (as Dr. Robert Ballard)
In Search of...
1977
TV Series documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
60 Minutes
2010-2015
TV Series documentary
Himself - Explorer (segment "The Unknown America") / Himself (segment "The Great Explorer")
Amazing Moments
2003
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Underwater Explorer
Beyond Titanic
1998
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Titanic: Breaking New Ground
1998
TV Special documentary
Himself
Known for movies
Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack (2001) as Himself
Titanic: 90 Years Below (2002) as Himself
Living Seas (1986) as Himself
Titanic: Death of a Dream (1994) as Himself (director: center of marine exploration, w