Austin Albert Mardon

Background

Austin Albert Mardon was born on June 25, 1962, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Ernest George (a professor of English) and May Gertrude (a teacher; maiden name, Knowler) Mardon. Mardon was a sickly child. He spent many winters in Hawaii with his mother and sister. He came to the United States in 1985.

Education

Since he came from a family of academics, Mardon worked hard to live in accordance with his family's heritage of academia, but while in college, he failed every class except for geography. Taking this as a sign, he decided to pursue geography exclusively, and one of his teachers described him as having a kind of academic breech birth - "having great difficulty at the beginning, but later finding his footing."

In his late teens, Mardon attended Grenoble University, where he was accepted as a peer and played some rugby. He received a Certificate in French Language in 1979. Mardon graduated in 1985 with a major in cultural geography from the University of Lethbridge. He became a graduate student at South Dakota State University, where he also attended the Space Studies Program and received a master's of science in 1988. He also received a master's degree in education from Texas A&M University in 1990. After he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Greenwich University. He has done work on other degrees from Newman Theological College, Kharkov National University, and the University of South Africa. He received an honorary law degree (Doctor of Law) from the University of Alberta in 2011.

Career

While doing graduate work at the South Dakota State University in 1986, Dr. Mardon was invited to be a member of the 1986-1987 Antarctic meteorite expedition for NASA and the National Science Foundation. 170 miles from the South Pole station when his team found hundreds of meteorites. During his sojourn, he suffered environmental exposure which damaged his lungs and gave him a permanent cough. He received the U.S. Congressional Antarctic Service Medal for his efforts and risk.

On his return to Alberta, Mardon gave lectures on Antarctica at the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. He secured an interview to be a member of the Canadian/Soviet Arctic traverse from northern Siberia to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, but failed to get on that expedition.

Mardon was a part of the failed meteorite recovery expedition in the Canadian Arctic near Resolute in the Northwest Territories and wrote a paper on his conversations with locals and what the Inuit thought of meteorites. He was also supposed to join an Argentinian Antarctic expedition in the late 80's, but a fire at the Argentinian Antarctic base caused his membership to be canceled.

One of Mardon's most significant contributions to astronomical science was a series of articles he wrote on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Chronicle is a running commentary on different events in England during the medieval period. With the assistance of his father, a medieval scholar, Mardon found eleven cometary events mentioned in the Chronicle that is not mentioned anywhere else in astronomical literature, as well as two meteor showers recorded in the Chronicle.

In 1991, Dr. Mardon was invited to join an expedition to the South Pole sponsored by the Geographical Society of the USSR. He traveled to Moscow and met with some expedition officials, receiving a strange welcome with little information and odd accommodations. He soon found out that he was under suspicion by the authorities and was arrested first by the GRU, then by the KGB. Dr. Mardon was questioned, held for a time, and then forced to wander the streets of Moscow with an escort that could have been a spy or guard as well as a guide. Dr. Mardon finally secured passage back to Canada after a harrowing experience in Moscow, and eventually received an official letter of apology from Moscow.

In 1992, Mardon was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following his diagnosis, Mardon began work as an activist for people with mental illnesses. Mardon has written multiple books on the subject of mental illness and has been bestowed several honors and awards for his work as a mental health advocate. In 2011 the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) awarded Mardon the CMA Medal of Honour.

Austin Mardon has edited, authored and self-published 50 books. He has published books on Canadian politics, history, mental health, science, geography, fiction and children’s fiction as well as numerous scholarly articles and abstracts. Many of his written works explore the topic of mental illness, with a specific focus on providing aid to the disabled.

Achievements

• Mardon explored Antarctica for two months as part of the United States NASA/NSF-sponsored Antarctic Meteorite Recovery Expedition in 1986. He investigated meteorite impacts only 170 miles from the South Pole. This accomplishment is even more remarkable when one realizes it commenced shortly after he completed his studies at The University of Lethbridge, at the age of only 24. Mardon has since become an elected International Fellow of the Explorers Club of New York for his field research, one of only two such members in Alberta. Mardon has achieved respect in the international academic community for his research, and has listings in several biographical dictionaries including Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Canada, and the International Biographical Dictionary.
  
  In addition to his many other honors, Mardon received a personal audience with the Pope in Rome in 1996 and the Governor General's Caring Canadian award in 1998. In 2001, he received two major awards: the Flag of Hope award from the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, and the International Intellectual Award from the International Biographical Centre.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Alberta Catholic Politicians

    (During the 20th century, Catholics accounted for approxim...)

    2012
  • Gandy and the Princess

    (Can Gandy save the Princess? Following Gandy the basset h...)

    2015
  • What's in a Name?

    (What's in a Name? explores the nominal backgrounds of man...)

    2012
  • The Insanity Machine: Living With Paranoid Schizophrenia

    (The Insanity Machine is an introspective look at life wit...)

    2013
  • Gandy and Parker Escape the Zoo

    (Gandy the basset hound and Parker the Penguin are best fr...)

    2013
  • Financial Stability for the Disabled 2012
  • The Mormon Contribution to Alberta Politics 2011
  • Alberta Anglican Politicians 2013
  • Investigating the Kensington Rune Stone and Other Essays 2011
  • Alberta's Political Pioneer 2011
  • Mapping Alberta's Judicial Leadership 2011
  • When Kitty Met the Ghost 2012
  • Alberta Elections Returns 1887-1994 2010

Membership

• American Meteor Society

• The Explorers Club

• American Polar Society

• Gamma Theta Upsilon

• Sigma Pi Sigma

Personality

Mardon was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1992, at the age of 30. Since that time, in addition to continuing his academic work, he has tirelessly worked to help others in Alberta with schizophrenia and mental illness.

Interests

• Reading, walking

• Sport & Clubs

  Swimming

Connections

Mardon married Stephanie Ngar Ling Liu on August 24, 1996.

Father:

Ernest George Mardon

Mother:

May Gertrude (Knowler) Mardon

Spouse:

Stephanie Ngar Ling Liu

Sister:

Mary Mardon

References

• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 164