Don Walsh Don Walsh ( born November 2 , 1931 ) is an American oceanographer , explorer and marine policy specialist . He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe " Trieste " when it made a record maximum descent into the Mariana Trench on January 23 , 1960 , the deepest point of the world ' s oceans . The depth was measured at , but later and more accurate measurements have measured it at 35 , 798 feet ( 10 , 911 m ) . Biography . Walsh has been associated with ocean science , engineering , and marine policy for more than 50 years . He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1954 . He attained the rank of Captain by the time he retired . He spent 15 years at sea , mostly in submarines , and was a submarine commander . He worked with ocean - related research and development for the Navy . Serving as Dean of Marine Programs and Professor of Ocean Engineering at the University of Southern California , Walsh initiated and directed the university ' s Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies . In 1989 his company , International Maritime Incorporated , contracted a joint venture with the P . P . Shirshov Institute of Oceanology to establish an underwater maintenance company , Soyuz Marine Service , which continues to operate in the Russian Federation . Honors . Walsh received a Bachelor ' s degree in Engineering from the U . S . Naval Academy , a Master ' s Degree in Political Science from San Diego State University , and a Master ' s degree and a Ph . D . in Physical Oceanography from Texas A & M University . He was appointed by Presidents Carter and Reagan to the U . S . National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere , was a member of the Law of the Sea Advisory Committee for the U . S . Department of State , and served as a member of the Marine Board of the U . S . National Research Council from 1990 to 1993 . Walsh was named one of the world ' s great explorers by " Life " magazine . In the MIR submersible , he dived on the RMS Titanic , the German battleship " Bismarck " , and the Mid - Atlantic Ridge . He has spent more than five decades traveling the world conducting research in , on , and around the oceans . On April 14 , 2010 , The National Geographic Society bestowed its greatest honor , the Hubbard Medal , on Walsh in a ceremony in Washington , D . C . at the National Geographic headquarters . The U . S . Navy awarded Walsh its Distinguished Public Service Award . Today . Walsh lives with his wife Joan in the Dora – Sitkum area of Oregon , near Coquille . He has managed a marine consulting business since 1976 , and conducts about 5 deep - sea expeditions per year . It was reported in 2010 that Walsh visited the deep - sea submersible " Jiaolong " and its makers at the China Ship Scientific Research Center . The craft had " planted a Chinese flag on the bottom of the South China Sea during a two - mile - deep dive in June " as the Chinese program — which Walsh characterized as " very deliberate " — proceeded toward its ambitious goal of going to 7 , 000 meters , or 4 . 35 miles , in 2012 . Walsh joined the team that oversaw the dive of the " Deepsea Challenger " mission where James Cameron dove solo to the bottom of the Mariana Trench on March 26 , 2012 .