Luis Marden facts for kids

Luis Marden (born Annibale Luigi Paragallo) was an amazing American explorer, photographer, writer, and diver. He lived from 1913 to 2003. Luis Marden worked for National Geographic Magazine for many years. He started as a photographer and reporter. Later, he became the head of the magazine's international team.

Marden was a pioneer in using color photography. He took incredible color pictures both on land and underwater. He also made many important scientific discoveries. People often called him the "National Geographic man." He was an adventurer who traveled all over the world. He searched for exciting stories for the magazine. Even after he officially retired in 1976, Marden kept writing articles. He wrote over 60 stories for National Geographic.

Early Life and Photography Journey

Luis Marden was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. His family came from Italy. He grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, and was known as Louis Paragallo back then. Marden first learned about photography in a chemistry class. This sparked a lifelong passion for him.

When he was just 19, in 1932, he wrote a book. It was called Color Photography with the Miniature Camera. This might have been the first book ever published about 35mm color photography.

Starting His Career

Marden began his career at a radio station in Boston called WMEX. He had a photography show there. His station manager suggested he change his name to Luis Marden. He picked "Marden" randomly from a phone book. After that, he worked as a freelance photographer for The Boston Herald.

His amazing skills in color photography led him to National Geographic magazine. He was hired on July 23, 1934. The magazine was proud of its high-quality color photos. Marden used a small, light Leica camera. He convinced the magazine to use these small 35mm cameras. They were loaded with the new Kodachrome film. This was a big change from the bulky cameras with tripods and glass plates they used before.

Marden's first reporting job was in the Yucatán Peninsula. He sailed there on a cargo ship. Then, he explored the area using a Model T Ford. He even got a mule to help him travel! Luis Marden passed away in Arlington, Virginia, at age 90. He had complications from Parkinson's disease.

Exploring the Underwater World

Luis Marden loved the ocean and was a pioneer in underwater photography.

• In 1941, he dove off Antigua. There, he saw his first amazing coral reef.
• Because he knew Spanish, Marden became National Geographic's "Latin America man" during World War II. He traveled all over Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
• Marden wanted to photograph the treasures of the deep sea. In the mid-1950s, he worked with the famous Jacques Cousteau. They were aboard Cousteau's ship, the Calypso.
• Marden developed many techniques for underwater color photography. These methods are still used today. For example, he used special filters and extra lights to make colors look better.
• Once, Marden and another National Geographic photographer, Bates Littlehales, got decompression sickness. This happened after diving in a holy Mayan well called Cenote Xlacah. It was in the Yucatán. They were treated successfully at a Navy lab in Panama City, Florida.

Finding the HMS Bounty

• In January 1957, Marden made an incredible discovery. He found the remains of Captain Bligh's ship, the HMS Bounty. He had seen a rudder from this ship in a museum on Fiji. He convinced his editors to let him dive near Pitcairn Island. That's where the rudder had been found.
• Even though an islander warned him, "Man, you gwen be dead as a hatchet!", Marden dove for several days. The waters near the island were dangerous. But he found the remains of the famous ship!
• Later, he met actor Marlon Brando. Marden gave him advice for his role as Fletcher Christian in the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty. Marden even wore cuff links made from nails from the Bounty!
• For a story in October 1985, Marden dove off Cape York Peninsula, Australia. He covered the wreck of HMS Pandora. This ship was sent to catch the Bounty mutineers. The Pandora sank on an Australian reef. Prisoners were still chained inside a cell on deck.

Columbus's Journey and Languages

In 1986, Marden and his wife, Ethel Cox Marden, tried to figure out Christopher Columbus's exact route. Ethel was a trained mathematician. They believed Columbus landed at Samana Cay, not San Salvador Island. They thought Columbus landed much farther south than people first believed.

A Master of Languages

As a teenager, Marden taught himself at least five languages. He even learned Egyptian hieroglyphs! Later, he studied many more. His office was full of dictionaries and grammar books. He knew Tahitian, Fijian, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, Danish, Arabic, Tongan, Turkish, and Māori. Marden was even quoted in Webster's Third New International Dictionary for some words!

Fishing, Bamboo, and Other Adventures

Marden loved fly fishing. This led him to be very interested in bamboo. The best fly rods are made from bamboo. This hobby took him to the bamboo forests of China in 1974. He was the first National Geographic person to visit China since 1949. Marden watched and photographed how Tonkin bamboo was grown and prepared.

This trip led to his 1980 article, "Bamboo, The Giant Grass." He wrote that bamboo "may be the world's most useful plant." Marden also made his own bamboo fishing rods. In 1997, he published his second book, The Angler's Bamboo. It talks about growing bamboo and the history of split-bamboo fishing rods.

More Exciting Activities

• Marden worked for NASA for a while. He took amazing photos of rocket launches. He also photographed the activities of the Project Mercury astronauts.
• He helped start the Sea Research Society. He was on its board of advisers.
• He also made 11 travelogue films for National Geographic's lecture series.
• In the early 1990s, he flew ultralight aircraft. Marden owned and piloted his own small plane.

Friends, Honors, and Discoveries

Marden was the chief of National Geographic's international editorial team. In this role, he became friends with important people. These included King Hussein of Jordan and the King of Tonga. The Italian government even made him a knight!

Marden House

Luis Marden and his wife, Ethel Cox Marden, lived in a special house called "Fontinalis." It is also known as Marden House. The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed it. The house overlooked the Potomac River. Marden had found the spot while fishing in 1944. The house was built between 1952 and 1959. It is a flat-roofed home made of cinder blocks and trimmed with mahogany. It curves into a hillside, looking like the bow of a boat.

Amazing Discoveries

• He is famous for finding the remains of the HMS Bounty off Pitcairn Island in January 1957.
• The National Geographic Society in Washington has a rare Aepyornis egg. Marden discovered it in 1967 in Madagascar. The egg is whole and even has the skeleton of the unborn bird inside!
• He discovered an orchid called Epistephium mardenii in Brazil. He wrote about it in his 1971 article on orchids.
• Marden also found a deepwater lobster parasite in the Atlantic. It was a new species of crustacean, later named Dolobrotus mardeni.
• He was the first to report seeing a sea anemone in the Red Sea flash different colors. This was the first published report of underwater fluorescence.

Named After Marden

• The orchid species Epistephium mardenii
• The sea flea Dolobrotus mardeni

See also

In Spanish: Luis Marden para niños