William Emerson Ritter

Ritter taught and researched zoology at the University of California and organised coastal collecting and surveys. When the Marine Biological Association of San Diego formed in 1903, he led its scientific work and sought support from the Scripps family and others to develop a station at La Jolla.

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His interests included animals in natural settings and relationships among an organism’s parts. He developed an organism-as-a-whole approach and wrote about connections between science, religion and social questions.

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Ritter advocated accurate, accessible reporting of scientific developments and proposed training scientific writers and creating a news service. Supported by E. W. Scripps, Science Service began operations in 1921, bringing research news to wider audiences.

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