Edward H. Smith

Who was Edward H. Smith?

Edward Hanson "Iceberg" Smith was a United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer, and Arctic explorer. He was born 29 October 1889 at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. He received a Ph.D. in oceanography from Harvard, and commanded the USCGC Marion and the USCGC Northland. Most famously, he commanded the Greenland Patrol, and led Coast Guard efforts to defend Greenland against the Germans in World War II. After retirement from the Coast Guard, he assumed the directorship of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.