Sunday Favorites: Celebrating the 'Shark Lady'

The forever stamp, which was released May 4, 2022, on what would have been Clark’s 100^th birthday, was designed and created by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya and features vibrant colors with Clark diving alongside a lemon shark, according to the article ”Her Forever Stamp on Marine Science, by Hayley Rutger.“

Clark was drawn to marine life at an early age. She grew up in New York City. Her father died when she was only two years old but a trip she took with him to the aquarium at Battery Park resonated with her. Her mother, Yumico Motomi, struggled as a single mother. When Clark was nine, Motomi would dropper her off at the New York Aquarium while she worked at a newsstand nearby. Mesmerized by marine life, Clark wandered around the facility for hours taking in the beauty of life under the sea. She dreamed of one day swimming with the sharks, according to the article ”Eugenie Clark – The Shark Lady“, by Ashley Gallagher.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in zoology from Hunter College in 1942, she brought this dream to life. During summers, she studied at the University of Michigan Biological Station, then went on to earn both a Master of Arts (1946) and Doctorate of Zoology (1950) from New York University.

During her career, she conducted 72 submersible dives and countless more using scuba gear and conducted over 200 field operations. At the time, she was one of the only ichthyologists, or fish biologists, to study living specimens.

Clark also demonstrated that lemon sharks could be trained to complete tasks. Her research debunked myths that sharks were vicious animals that needed to keep swimming to survive. She was the first scientist to develop "test tube" babies in female fish She also authored two books, Lady with a Spear (1953) and The Lady and the Sharks (1969), as well as over 175 scientific articles. She worked on 24 television specials and helped create the first IMAX film.

Clark was an avid supporter of marine conservation and many of her popular publications and public appearances focused on dispelling assumptions about shark behavior and intelligence to prevent the senseless killing of sharks and encourage the preservation of marine environments.

Over her lifetime, Clark received many awards for her research. She was inducted into both the Florida Women's Hall of Fame and the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. She was the 1987 recipient in the Science category of a NOGI, which is awarded annually by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. In 1975, she received the Gold Medal of the International Society of Woman Geographers for her studies of shark reproduction and behavior.

Clark's research changed the way we view sharks today, and her deep dives have given us insight into the world around us.