Eugenie Clark Stamp
On 4 May 2022, Eugenie Clark, an American ichthyologist, would have turned 100 years old. She was known as "The Shark Lady" and was well known for her research on shark behavior. She was also a pioneer in using scuba diving for research.
By Larry Cohen & Olga Torrey
Eugenie Clark received many honors, including the Explorers Club Medal, Franklin L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society, and the Medal of Excellence from the American Society of Oceanographers. In addition, in 2018, a newly discovered species of dogfish shark was named Squalus clarkae in her honor.
On her 100th birthday, having her image on a US Postal Forever stamp honored Eugenie Clark. National Geographic photographer David Doubilet captured her photograph used on the stamp, and Reinhard Dirscherl's image of a lemon shark is featured. Multidisciplinary artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya created a digital collage of the two photos with a wavy blue element in the background.
Angela H. Curtis, the Postal Service's vice president of delivery operations and dedicating official, stated: "One of the goals of the Postal Service's stamp program is to celebrate people who represent the best of our nation. Eugenie Clark, the 'Shark Lady' certainly deserves this recognition. She was a brilliant scientist whose groundbreaking work added to our understanding of sharks and marine environments."
Dr. Clark's family is thrilled to see her be recognized and honored on a stamp. Her work was groundbreaking for proving that sharks are intelligent, and she was a pioneer for female scientists, researchers, and scuba divers. Clark's daughter Aya Konstantinou said: "We are so proud of her legacy as an Asian-American woman, teacher, and scientist."
The Eugenie Clark Forever stamp is sold in panes of 20 stamps. The stamps could be purchased at the US Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps.
