Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 15, 1926, Dr Steele began his career studying mathematics at University College, London at the early age of 16, where his professors had to compete with incoming German rockets for the attention of their students. Upon graduation in 1946, he served in the Royal Air Force research establishment, doing research in aeronautical mechanics. After his discharge, in 1951, he answered an advertisement and found a position at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, Scotland. This institution was charged with fisheries management, but Dr Steele recognized that doing this properly required an understanding of the broader ocean environment. He was awarded a Doctor of Science degree from University College, London in 1963.

During his years at Aberdeen, Dr Steele became involved with the idea of studying smaller systems that might embrace the processes of the broader ocean, but that were small enough to allow a complete characterization of the ecosystem. One approach to this involved measurement in Loch Ewe, on the Scottish west coast; a second, bolder approach involved the use of large, two-meter-opening, plastic bags called mesocosms floating in the ocean. About this same time, Dr Steele’s interests broadened to embrace the entire marine ecosystem.

The success of his efforts was recognized with many honours, including receiving the Alexander Agassiz Medal from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1973 and his election to Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1968, and as a Fellow of the Royal Societies of London in 1978.

John H. Steele was director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for 12 years and was an intellectual leader of the national and international ocean science community. He was well known for his development of quantitative approaches to the study of marine ecosystems, having played a key role in creating major research programs that contribute to our knowledge of the ocean’s role in global processes.