Although internationally known as a pioneer in underwater archaeology and an expert on shipwrecks and sunken treasure, Dr. Spence is also a published author of non-fiction, reference books; a magazine editor (Diving World, Atlantic Coastal Diver, Treasure, Treasure Diver, and Treasure Quest), and publisher of both books and magazines (ShipWrecks, Wreck Diver); a published photographer; an artist; and an award-winning cartographer. Always an adventurer, Spence was just twelve when he found his first five shipwrecks. Pioneer may refer to: Woodsman, one who makes his living in the wilderness through trapping, hunting, logging, and/or prospecting Settler, one who has travelled from his or her homeland by choice to live in a new land or colony Mormon Pioneer, a members of the Church of Jesus Christ... This list of shipwrecks is of those sunken ships whose remains have been located. ... A treasure hunt can be one of a number of things. ... Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. ... An Editor is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... This is a list of notable photographers in the art, documentary and fashion traditions. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ... An adventurer or adventuress is one who takes part in a risky or speculative course of action for profit or position, or one who lives by his or her wits. ...

The late Peter Throckmorton, who is frequently described as the "father of marine archaeology", compared E. Lee Spence to Heinrich Schlieman (widely considered to have been the "father" of historical archaeology)in a paper that Throckmorton wrote for a symposium convened by the Society for Historical Archaeology about Spence's work on the wreck of the blockade runner SS Mary Bowers. Lee Spence has been referred to as a real life Indiana Jones or Dirk Pitt. Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline that studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of vessels, shore side facilities, cargoes and human remains. ... Historical archaeology is a branch of archaeology that concerns itself with historical societies, i. ... Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means to drink together) but has since come to refer to any academic conference, whether or not drinking takes place. ... A blockade runner is a ship designed to provide vital supplies to countries or areas blockaded by enemy forces during wartime. ... Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones Dr. Henry Indiana Jones, Jr. ... Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. ...

Dr. Spence's past work has been funded by such institutions as the Savannah Ships of the Sea Museum, the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1991 and '92, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archaeology for San Andres y Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile Colombian owned archipelago in the western Caribbean. He has worked on the wrecks of Spanish galleons, pirate ships, Great Lakes freighters, modern luxury liners (cruise ships), Civil War blockade runners and submarines. He has authored more than two dozen non-fiction books, and has served as editor for a number of nationally distributed magazines. The College of Charleston (C of C) is a public university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. ... The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. ... San Andrés and Providencia (Spanish: San Andrés y Providencia) is a department of Colombia. ... The Mergui Archipelago An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... World map depicting Caribbean : West Indies redirects here. ... For the fictional unit of money called a galleon, see Money in Harry Potter. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship that carries goods and materials from one port to another. ... Legend of the Seas moored at San Diego, California A cruise ship, or less commonly cruise liner, is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the amenities of the ship are considered an essential part of the experience. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... A blockade runner is a ship designed to provide vital supplies to countries or areas blockaded by enemy forces during wartime. ... Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. ...

International Diving Institute

Dr. Spence is an owner and Vice President of the International Diving Institute, one of fewer that a dozen schools in North America that teaches and certifies commercial deep sea divers.

Discovery & Donation of the Civil War submarine H. L. Hunley:

Spence first discovered the Civil War submarine Hunley in 1970. But it was not until 1995, that his discovery was indepently verified by a combined South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) expedition directed by underwater archaeologist Dr. Mark Newell and funded in part by novelist Clive Cussler. Later the same year, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell (chairman), of the State of South Carolina Hunley Commission, Spence donated all of his rights to the wreck to the State. A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Günther Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine Inside of the Argonaute, showing the typical obstructed, tiny space of a post-WWII diesel attack submarine. ... CSS H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States Navy that demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. ... The National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) is a private non-profit organization in the United States, based on a fictional organization from the novels of Clive Cussler, who also heads up the actual organization. ... Clive Cussler (born July 15, 1931 in Alhambra, California) is an American adventure novelist. ... A chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... Wreck may mean: a collision of an automobile or airplane, or other vehicle a shipwreck, where a ship has hit another, or run aground on rocks WREK FM at Georgia Tech, named for the Rambling Wreck   This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that...

During their negotiations with the federal government on the future salvage and museum display of the wreck, South Carolina's strongest claim of ownership to the Civil War submarine Hunley was based on Spence's 1970 discovery of that vessel and his gift of his salvage rights to it to the State. Negotiation is the process whereby interested parties resolve disputes, agree upon courses of action, bargain for individual or collective advantage, and/or attempt to craft outcomes which serve their mutual interests. ... A federal government is the common government of a federation. ... Salvage may refer to: Look up salvage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... CSS H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States Navy that demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. ... Look up discovery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The Hunley has been described as the most important underwater archaeological discovery of the 20th century. The tiny sub and its contents have been valued at over $40,000,000 making Spence's donation one of the largest ever made to South Carolina. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Sub- is a prefix derived from Latin, meaning under, below, or less than. The analogous Greek prefix is hypo-. As a word, sub is an abbreviation for: Submarine Submarine sandwich Subscriber Substitute, especially a substitute teacher Subtitle, especially in connection with anime films, and as opposed to dub Submissive (BDSM... Donation is a gift to a fund or cause, typically for charitable reasons. ...

Important Discoveries:

Although Dr. Spence has discovered numerous historically significant shipwrecks, including the SS Georgiana (said to have been the most powerful cruiser built by the Confederate States of America), and has salvaged millions of valuable artifacts, he considers his identification of George Trenholm, who was the owner of the Georgiana, as the "Real Rhett Butler" to have been his most important literary discovery. USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1992. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: With God As Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until 29 May 1861) Richmond, Virginia (29 May 1861–2 April 1865) Danville, Virginia (from 3 April 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Georgiana is a town located in Butler County, Alabama, USA. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town is 1,737. ... Rhett Butler is the handsome, dashing fictional hero of Gone with The Wind written by American author, Margaret Mitchell. ... Literature is literally an acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. ...

International Recognition:

His work has been written up in over one thousand periodicals around the world, including the New York Times; USA Today; Heutzu (Germany); Vi Menn (Norway); MacLean (Canada); Tresors de l'histoire (France); Life magazine; and People magazine. He has also been a guest on numerous local and network radio and television shows such as the Today Show on NBC where he was interviewed by Jane Pauley. The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... USA Today is a national American newspaper published by the Gannett Corporation. ... VI Menn is a Norwegian mens magazine. ... McLean, MacLean, or Maclean refers to: People: Alexander McLean a. ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... People, a weekly magazine of celebrity and popular culture news, debuted on February 27, 1974. ... The Today Show (officially called Today) is currently, a long-running morning news show airing on the NBC television network in the United States. ... It has been suggested that NBC Radio City Studios, NBC Studios be merged into this article or section. ... Jane Pauley Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950, in Indianapolis) is an American television news anchor and journalist. ...

Books:

Dr. Spence's book, Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The "Real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations, prompted major features in such international publications as the London Sunday Express and Italy's Oggi magazine. He has written 27 other non-fiction books including Shipwrecks, Pirates, & Privateers: Sunken Treasures of the Upper South Carolina Coast, 1521-1865. See comments from critics and peers. The Daily Express is a British newspaper, currently tabloid, and it is owned by Richard Desmond. ...

Maps & Charts:

Spence is also an award-winning cartographer and has published a number of maps and charts dealing with shipwrecks and treasure. Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ...

Personal & Marital Status:

Dr. E. Lee Spence was born on November 6, 1947, at Munich, Germany, to career United States Army Intelligence officer (Col. Judson C. Spence, Sr., recipient of the Vietnamese Soldier's Medal of Honor) and Mary Truett Spence.

Dr. Spence has been married five times. Although now separated, Dr. Spence is married to the former Sherry Shealy Martschink. Sherry has served in both the South Carolina House and Senate. Spence has a son named Matthew Lee Spence and three stepchildren (Tree, Mandy and Tiffany).

Degrees, Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:

Spence graduated Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina in 1976, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an academic concentration in marine archaeology. His doctorate is a Doctor of Marine Histories (MHD) from Sea Research Society's College Of Marine Arts. Although both non-traditional and non-accredited, it is none-the-less meant to be the equivalent of an earned Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... An 1872 illustration of the Horseshoe, USCs original campus. ... Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ... Interdisciplinary work is that which integrates concepts across different disciplines. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... PhD usually refers to the academic title Doctor of Philosophy PhD can also refer to the manga Phantasy Degree This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ...

Scuba Diver - Florida Safety Council - 1963;
Commercial Diver (surface supplied air) - Palmetto Diving Association - 1966
Shipwreck Consultant - Sea Research Society - 1972;
Sidescan Sonar Operator - Klein - 1989

Dr. Spence is a member and current president of the Sea Research Society and is a member of the Board of Directors of the [American Military Museum] in Charleston. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Cardiological Research Institute for the Medical University of South Carolina. He is a lifetime member of MENSA (best known to the public as a society for genuises), and various other honor societies. He has an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserves and has served as Post Commander for Post #10 of the American Legion. The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. ... There are multiple pages related to Mensa. Mensa International is an organization for persons with high IQs. ... A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. ... Army reserves are a part of an army which is normally activated only during emergencies such as a war. ... The American Legion is an organization of veterans of the United States armed forces who served in wartime. ...

Authorized to teach the following advanced courses at the International Diving Institute:
•Shipwrecks 501 (Shipwreck Research and Salvage) •Shipwrecks 502 (Basics in Underwater Archaeology)