The Discovery of the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard

I had a lot of time on my hands.”īallard’s fascination with the ocean began at an early age. “And we had the pandemic, I wasn’t going to sea. This was just the perfect time ” he says of the book, which was written with the help of New York Times investigative journalist Christopher Drew. He delves into his astonishing career in the memoir released later this month, and also opens up about some of the most defining moments in his personal life, including the tragic death of his son. Emory Kristof/National Geographic Image Collection Oceanographer Robert Ballard celebrates the discovery of Titanic with photographer Emory Kristof in 1985. “When kids ask me ‘what’s your greatest discovery,’ I always tell them ‘it’s the one that I’m about to make,” he says.Īlthough Ballard accepts he’s unlikely to add another 100 expeditions to his tally, he plans to “keep knocking off a few” while he’s still able to. So I feel emancipated in many ways.”Īnd those “other dreams” are still evolving after decades of exploring the deep sea.

“In many ways it’s sort of freed me up to dream other dreams. “I’m sure my obituary is written ‘man who found the Titanic died today.’ “Moms are always right,” he tells CNN Travel. In his upcoming memoir, “Into The Deep,” Ballard recalls walking into the premiere of the 1997 movie “Titanic” with the film’s director James Cameron, who turned to him and said: “You go first. In a career that’s spanned more than 60 years, Robert Ballard has conducted over 150 underwater expeditions and made countless significant scientific discoveries.īut the renowned oceanographer says he’s made peace with the fact that he will probably always be known as “the man who found Titanic.”Īccording to Ballard, his mother predicted he’d never be able to escape that “rusty old boat” when he called to tell her he’d located the famous shipwreck in 1985.

The Discovery of the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard