Background
Merton Edward Davies was born on September 13, 1917, in Saint Paul. Merton Edward Davies was the son of Albert Daniel and Lucile (McCabe) Davies. He had a sister Joyce Dresia.
1938
450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
A native of the Midwest, Davies moved to the West Coast when he was accepted at Stanford University, from which he graduated in 1938 with a bachelor's degree. From 1938 to 1939 Davies earned a postgraduate degree.
2000
Chantilly, Virginia, United States
The photo seen here is of Mr. Davies and his wife, Louise, in front of the NRO 40th Anniversary Commemorative Plaque at the ceremony NRO headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia, on Sept. 26.
cartographer engineer scientist writer
Merton Edward Davies was born on September 13, 1917, in Saint Paul. Merton Edward Davies was the son of Albert Daniel and Lucile (McCabe) Davies. He had a sister Joyce Dresia.
A native of the Midwest, Davies moved to the West Coast when he was accepted at Stanford University, from which he graduated in 1938 with a bachelor's degree. From 1938 to 1939 Davies earned a postgraduate degree.
Merton Davies was a pioneer in the aerospace industry, getting into the field in 1940 when he was hired by Douglas Aircraft. He worked briefly as a math instructor at the University of Nevada at Reno, but then joined Douglas, figuring the math necessary for flying fighter planes. In 1948 Davies transferred to its subsidiary, the Rand project, where he stayed for fifty years. During the 1950s at Rand, Davies worked on technical projects and designed satellite vehicles, becoming integrally involved with cameras for reconnaissance satellites. Davies’ knowledge of the satellites and images they collected was of interest to the government, and for several years he analyzed photos for the Pentagon, interpreting weapons systems from countries like the Soviet Union and doing highly classified work for the Air Force. All the while working at Rand, Davies also helped NASA with its program to explore other planets. He and fellow staffers made maps of the skies and helped plan space missions including Galileo, Mariner and Voyager.
Merton Davies was a member of the United States delegation to the Surprise Attack Conference in Geneva in 1958 and was later a consultant to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. In 1965 he participated in the first Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) attempt to fly to Mars a tiny primitive spacecraft carrying the world’s first digital camera, Mariner 4, and the follow-on Mars flyby missions, Mariners 6 and 7. Then Merton Davies went on to an unparalleled career in planetary exploration. He was a key member of the imaging teams of Mariners 6, 7, 9, and 10, of Voyagers 1 and 2 and Galileo and Cassini, of NEAR and Magellan.
In 1967 Merton Davies served as a United States Observer on an inspection of foreign bases in Antarctica under terms of the Antarctic Treaty. In the late 1960s, he turned his expertise in space and satellites to planetary studies and became involved in the Mariner program, working on interpreting the images of Mars sent back by Mariner probes. Merton Davies was responsible for creating the geodetic control Netto for mapping Mars surface, and eventually of many other solar system bodies.
Davies co-wrote a trio of books: The View From Space: Photographic Exploration of the Planets, with Bruce C. Murray; Atlas of Mercury, with Stephen E. Dwomick, Donald E. Gault, and Robert G. Strom; and RAND’s Role in the Evolution of Balloon and Satellite Observation Systems and Related U.S. Space Technology.
Merton Davies was an associate of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union and American Society Photogrammetry. In 1998 Merton Davies was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
American Geophysical Union , United States
1998
National Reconnaissance Office , United States
1999
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , United States
American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States
American Geophysical Union , United States
American Society Photogrammetry , United States
Merton Davies was hardworking, disciplined, well-bred. He read a lot of books and maps, calculated and analyze very well. Merton Davies was a great human being. He always had time to encourage, teach, and generally share his tremendous enthusiasm for exploration with everyone, young and old, junior or senior, distinguished peer or interested citizen. Everybody appreciated friendship with Merton Davies because he was generous and kind.
Physical Characteristics:
Merton Davies was tall and lanky, always with a gentle smile (really a barely suppressed giggle most of the time). He wore glasses.
Quotes from others about the person
''Mert has single-handedly observed more of the solar system than any other human.'' - Torrence Johnson
Merton Davies married Margaret Louise Darling on February 10, 1946. They have children: Deidra Louise Stauff, Albert Karl, Merton Randel. He has nine grandchildren and one great-grandson.