George Robert Fischer (May 4, 1937 – May 29, 2016) was an Americanunderwater archaeologist, considered the founding father of the field in theNational Park Service. A nativeCalifornian, he did undergraduate and graduate work atStanford University, and began his career with the National Park Service in 1959, which included assignments in six parks, theWashington, D.C. Office, and theSoutheast Archaeological Center from which he retired in 1988. He began teaching courses in underwater archaeology atFlorida State University in 1974 and co-instructed inter-disciplinary courses in scientificdiving techniques. After retirement from the NPS his FSU activities were expanded and his assistance helped shape the university's program in underwater archaeology.
Fischer was a true pioneer[1] in the field of underwater archaeology and his students are now professors in the U.S. and abroad, serve as state, federal, and territorialarchaeologists, direct non-profit research organizations, and work in the private sector. He founded and oversaw the underwater archaeology program for the National Park Service in 1968, and was involved with many of the early shipwreck excavations that are now required reading in introductory textbooks (such as the 1554 Padre Island galleons,[2][3] 1733 galleonSan Jose,[4] 1622 galleonRosario,[5][6] 1748 British warshipHMSFowey,[7] 1865 steamboatBertrand[8]). Fischer taught, as a volunteer at no cost to the university, for almost 30 years at Florida State University, which enabled their underwater archaeology program and introduced hundreds of students to this field.
Fischer was born inSusanville,Lassen County, to George August Fischer, aforester with theUnited States Forest Service, and Ruth Robertson Fischer, a school teacher. He was raised in various small towns in northern California, includingAlturus,Quincy andTulelake. While in Tulelake, his mother taught school children at theTule Lake War Relocation Center, and found it more convenient to bring young George along and teach him with the internedJapanese children. Fischer soon distinguished himself as the onlyCaucasian child that was hurling stones at the guards during recess.[9]
He met his wife, Nancy (Jane) George Fischer while attending Stanford and they were married on June 20, 1961. They had a son while Fischer was stationed atMontezuma Castle National Monument inArizona. They lived inTallahassee, Florida during his career with the Southeast Archeological Center and Florida State University and after his retirement.[10]
He died in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 29, 2016.[11]
Fischer attended Stanford University, performing his Undergraduate work from 1955 to 1960 and earning his Bachelor of Arts inAnthropology, with minor concentrations inEnglish andGeology. He continued with graduate school at Stanford from 1960–62 and has completed all requirements for his Master of Arts in Anthropology except thesis.[12] Fischer dabbled part-time as a special student at Florida State University from 1972 to 1973 while employed at the Southeast Archaeological Center.
George Fischer was employed with the National Park Service from 1959 to 1988, starting as a seasonalPark Ranger and archaeologist from 1959 to 1962 inMesa Verde National Park andWupatki National Monument. In 1962 he became a full-time employee with the NPS as Park Archaeologist atMontezuma Castle National Monument, and in 1964 he took a position as the ParkArchaeologist atOcmulgee National Monument. In 1966 Fischer moved on to become a Staff Archaeologist at the Division of Archaeology and Anthropology for the NPS in Washington, D.C. There Fischer performed general archaeological resource management and research and was able to pursue interests in underwater archaeology.[13]
1972 saw Fischer transferring to Tallahassee to take a position as a Research Archaeologist at the Southeast Archaeological Center, and that institution's close association with the Florida State University Department of Anthropology led to Fischer's work with archaeology faculty and students there.[14][15] Upon his retirement from the NPS in 1988, Fischer became a Courtesy Assistant Professor for the Department of Anthropology. During his tenure at Florida State, he served as an instructor of underwater archaeology courses, lectured on topics relating to underwater archaeology for courses in historical archaeology, public archaeology, and Southeast colonial history, and assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through the Academic Diving Program.[15][16] Fischer's instruction and mentoring capacities lessened in the late 1990s as he shifted more into retirement mode.[16]
From July to September, 1969, Fischer served as field coordinator on the excavation of the 19th century steamboatBertrand atDesoto National Wildlife Refuge on theMissouri River nearBlair, Nebraska.[8] Over 200,000 items were excavated from the wreck, whole objects in incredible condition, still packed in the original crates, with the names of the manufacturers, shippers and consignees; all dated to the morning of April 1, 1865. This opened his eyes to the "time capsule" nature of historic shipwreck sites, allowing one to see a specific day and an event caught in time, rather than working with fragments of artifacts and historical trash.[26]
Fort Jefferson is a US Third System Fort 70 miles west ofKey West in theGulf of Mexico, and is the largest brick masonry fortification in the western hemisphere. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Fischer led evaluations of underwater archaeological resources, limited underwater archaeological survey and excavations, and extensive underwater archaeological survey and testing activities. The 1969 work marked the first extensive shipwreck survey by the NPS on park property, noting more than 20 sites. He also participated with staff ofEarth Satellite Corporation in aremote sensing survey for historic shipwreck sites, and assisted in analysis of data. Work was conducted at Fort Jefferson in 1981 and 1982 in partnership with Florida State University.[28][29]
In the summer of 1981 and 1982 Fischer directed underwater archaeological investigations of what is considered the wreck of theNuestra Señora del Rosario of the 1622 Spanish fleet, as well as an unidentifiedpatache of the same fleet. This investigation revealed what could represent one of the pataches that was sent to salvage theRosario less than a month after the hurricane that sank it, possibly documenting the speed with which the Spanish salvaged their own wrecks.[6][28]
HMS Fowey was afifth rate British warship, carrying 44 guns and over 200 men, captained by a descendant of Sir Francis Drake's brother. It had scored victories over French and Spanish ships in battle, but was lost on a reef at what is now known as the Legare Anchorage inBiscayne National Park in 1748.[7] The sunken vessel became the subject of an ownership dispute with a part-time treasure salvor who presumed that it was part of theSpanish treasure fleet.[30] Through legal conflicts and systematic surveys and archaeological investigations of the 1980s and 1990s, Fischer and his staff from the Park Service and students from Florida State University not only identified the sunken vessel but won a legal battle that effectively changed howAdmiralty law was applied to submerged shipwreck sites.[31] The court found that theNational Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was to be applied to submerged shipwreck sites as it is to historic sites on land, no longer allowing plundering by individuals usingmarine salvage and Admiralty law to profiteer from the non-archaeological salvage of a historic shipwreck in National Park grounds.[32] This activity is seen by many of his colleagues and former students as George Fischer's defining act.
Fischer was also a founding member of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, an international committee of theSociety for Historical Archaeology that provides advice and assistance to governments, institutions, and individuals on matters relating to the field. He currently holds emeritus status.[33][34][35]
During the period of Fischer's tenure as a courtesy professor the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory's Academic Diving Program, established in 1975, grew to one of the largest and most active diving research, support, and training programs in theUnited States.[36] The Marine Lab and Academic Diving Program traditionally supports the research diving needs of faculty and students from many departments, as well as several outside agencies, including the Florida Geological Survey and theUS Environmental Protection Agency.[36] Fischer assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through the Florida State University Academic Diving Program from 1976 through his retirement from the Park Service in 1988, and continued as a co-instructor until 2002.[15][37] His input and continuity over three decades was instrumental in the expansion and ongoing development of this program.[16]
George Fischer, with primary author and former student Russell K. Skowronek, authored the bookHMS Fowey Lost and Found: Being the Discovery, Excavation, and Identification of a British Man-of-War Lost off the Cape of Florida in 1748, published by the University Press of Florida on January 26, 2009.[7]
Fischer, George R. (1975) A Survey of the Offshore Lands of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida.International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3(2):338-339.
Fischer, George R. (1975) "Archeological Assessment of Biscayne National Monument." Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
Fischer, George R. (1980) "Interim Report: Underwater Archeological Survey of Legare Anchorage, Biscayne National Park." Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
Fischer, George R. and Richard E. Johnson (1982) "Fort Jefferson National Monument Overview, Research Design, and Scope of Work, Investigations of Site FOJE-UW-9 (8MO83)." Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
Fischer, George R. and Philip R. Gerrell (1990) An Underwater Archaeological Assessment of Cultural Resources Located at the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park (8WA24), Florida. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Toni Carrell, pp. 125–128. Society for Historical Archaeology, Tucson, Arizona.
McLean, Cecil W. and George R. Fischer (1991) Investigation of the Civil War Blockade RunnerIvanhoe. Florida State University Department of Anthropology.
Fischer, George R. (1993) The Conference on Underwater Archaeology and The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology: A Brief History. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Shelli O. Smith, pp. 2–6. Society for Historical Archaeology, Kansas City, Missouri.
Fischer, George R. (1999) The History of Underwater Archaeology at Florida State University: a Retrospective of the Past and a Look to the Future. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Adrian A. Neidinger and Matthew A. Russell, pp. 80–84. Society for Historical Archaeology, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Department of Anthropology at Florida State University dedicated its George R. Fischer Laboratory of Underwater Archaeology to Fischer (see photograph at top of page).
In March 2007, LAMP announced during the first annual Northeast Florida Symposium on Underwater Archaeology that Fischer had donated his personal library to LAMP, to form the core of a first-class research library, the George R. Fischer Library of Maritime Archaeology.[39]
A session of papers in honor of Fischer was presented at the 41st annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology held inAlbuquerque, New Mexico on January 10, 2008.[40]
On January 8, 2010, at the 43rd annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology at Amelia Island in Northeast Florida, Fischer was presented with the Society for Historical Archaeology's Award of Merit "for his many contributions to the development of underwater archaeology and for his exemplary service on the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology."[41]
^ab"Johnson, Richard (1982) Underwater Archaeological Investigations at FOJE-UW-9 Conducted in Summer 1982 at Fort Jefferson National Monument, Dry Tortugas, Florida. Southeastern Archaeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
^abc"Father of Park Service Underwater Unit Retires."Underwater USA by Joseph Ditzler (September 1988), p.30.
^abc"Fischer, George R. (1999) The History of Underwater Archaeology at Florida State University: a Retrospective of the Past and a Look to the Future. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Adrian A. Neidinger and Matthew A. Russell, pp. 80-84. Society for Historical Archaeology, Salt Lake City, Utah.
^Fischer, George R. (1975) A Survey of the Offshore Lands of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida.International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3(2):338-339.
^Meide, Chuck "Thirty Years of Maritime Archaeology in America's Oldest Port," Paper presented at the second Northeast Florida Symposium on Maritime Archaeology, 12 March 2008, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, St. Augustine, Florida
^Fischer, George R. and Richard E. Johnson (1982) "Fort Jefferson National Monument Overview, Research Design, and Scope of Work, Investigations of Site FOJE-UW-9 (8MO83)." Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
^Brewer, David (1982) A Progress Report on Work Conducted in Search for theFox During 1981. Report prepared by the Academic Diving Program, Florida State University, on file at the Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
^Wright, Chip (1990) Dog Island Wreck Number 2, April 16–17, 1990. Report prepared by the Academic Diving Program, Florida State University, for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, Tallahassee.
^Fischer, George R. and Philip R. Gerrell (1990) An Underwater Archaeological Assessment of Cultural Resources Located at the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park (8WA24), Florida. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Toni Carrell, pp. 125-128. Society for Historical Archaeology, Tucson, Arizona.
^Ball, David A. (1998) Phoenix, and the Confederate Obstructions of Upper Mobile Bay, Alabama (1MB28). Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
^McLean, Cecil W. and George R. Fischer (1991) Investigation of the Civil War Blockade RunnerIvanhoe. Florida State University Department of Anthropology.
^abFischer, George R. (1993) The Conference on Underwater Archaeology and The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology: A Brief History. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Shelli O. Smith, pp. 2-6. Society for Historical Archaeology, Kansas City, Missouri. p. 5.
^"Arnold, J. Barto III, and Robert S. Weddle (1978)The Nautical Archaeology of Padre Island: the Spanish Shipwrecks of 1554. Academic Press, New York. p. 188.
^ab"Fischer, George R. (1999) The History of Underwater Archaeology at Florida State University: a Retrospective of the Past and a Look to the Future. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Adrian A. Neidinger and Matthew A. Russell, pp. 80-84. Society for Historical Archaeology, Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 82.
^Johnson, Richard (1982) Underwater Archaeological Investigations at FOJE-UW-9 Conducted in Summer 1982 at Fort Jefferson National Monument, Dry Tortugas, Florida. Southeastern Archaeological Center, National Park Service, Tallahassee, Florida.
^Fischer, George R. (1993) The Conference on Underwater Archaeology and The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology: A Brief History. InUnderwater Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, edited by Shelli O. Smith, pp. 2-6. Society for Historical Archaeology, Kansas City, Missouri.
